Electric
by Ngoc Chau
Summary: AT. His lips brushed her legs, mouth already watering from the warmth of the flesh radiating beneath. She moaned his name, "Mayuri-sama…" The grip of his hands on her knees grew harder. "Why did you have me?" he asked passively. Multific Mayuri x Nemu
1. Oedipus

**Ngoc Chau does not own Bleach**

**The setting is AT = Alternate Timeline. Mayuri Kurotsuchi is dead and his daughter/lieutenant: Nemu Kurotsuchi has taken up the mantle to be the Twelfth Division's Captain and Chief of the SDRI. Before Mayuri Kurotsuchi's demise, he had created another false being. This false being was to be raised by Nemu to be the next Captain. While flesh can be reproduced, a mind will differ. **

**Oh... you might be wondering why this fanfic is called "Electric"**

**Well, I didn't want to come right out and call it "Incest" or "Oedipus". I wanted to be clever about it. But anyway, I went onto a thesaurus site and looked up synonyms for "incest". Three results came up: interbreeding, Oedipal love, and Electral love. Electral looks a lot like Electric, so I went with that. **

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><p>The halls of the Division was crowded with scientists running to and fro; yet immediately at the sight of its Lieutenant, the crowd parted to the side.<p>

The Lieutenant strode in briskly. All regarded the new Lieutenant with nothing but respect and fear. It was a very dangerous person they were dealing with after all. The new Captain had insisted on him as the Lieutenant, for who else would be better suited for the Twelfth Division and its daughter organization: the SDRI.  
>Yes, Kurotsuchi Mayuri was a fearful person to associate with yet the Captain had no qualms about him at all, and greatly esteemed him.<p>

They all bowed their heads to him as he passed by and greeted him by addressing his rank. "Good afternoon, Kurotsuchi-fukutaicho! How are you today, sir? Good afternoon, sir! Hello, fukutaicho-san!"

Politely, he nodded his head to them to briefly acknowledge them. In his arms, he held a portfolio of papers that had to be distributed and recollected afterwards - he would assign the job to a lower subordinate - and he meticulously handed out the papers as he passed through the parted crowd. As he reached the end of the hall and his arms were bare of the papers, he looked back over his shoulder at the shaking crowd behind him. "What are you all doing? Get back to work now! Just because I'm here doesn't mean I need all of you to watch me!"

At the last word, all of them scrambled back to their desks and counters, the silence being filled with the buzzing of incomprehensible voices merging together as an almost singular sound.

For most of the hours, Mayuri went ahead making his rounds throughout the various labs, recollecting papers from low-ranking shinigami who had collected it by the bundle to return to him, and supervising the technicians to make sure that all was in order. There was a strange irony in that the higher the rank one achieved, the lesser the load of work became.

It was theoretically possible that with as much work the SDRI accumulated with each passing year, Mayuri could possibly not see the Captain for weeks at a time. If he so chose to see the captain, it was either by his own initiative or more plausible that he required the Captain to re-review forms and paperwork before he could deliver it to the Ninth Division.

As Mayuri was about to report to his captain, he stopped momentarily in the main corridor to look up at the portrait of previous Captain of the Division who had died some years earlier. Truthfully, Mayuri often felt embarrassed whenever he passed through the main corridor and was subjected to look upon the familiar face of the man and knew that others looked at it too. Albeit their appearances differed in years and maturity, the resemblance was definite. It was no surprise since he was the man's clone after all. He turned away, abashed, from the protrait: wondering why in blue hell would the Captain want to post up such an image. It was though she wanted to announce to the world that he was a copy of that man.

Speak of the devil, he thought as the Captain suddenly appeared, an entourage of shinigami behind her bustling with questions and inquisitions. Her green eyes focused on him and he nodded to her as it was his way of acknowledgement to another. The Captain was a woman who looked to be of some advanced age, yet she did not look too old to be considered a crone. If anything, compared to Mayuri, the Captain looked more like an older sister than a young mother.  
>Though, all things considering, biologically: she was his sister after all since the two of them were similar products of what experimentations with false souls and bodies could lead to, derived from the same research of and constructed by the same man.<p>

She greeted him first, "Fukutaicho." The entourage of shinigami followed suit.

He nodded his head back in appropriate response. "Taicho." he greeted only to her.

The woman before him had raised him for as long as he could remember, had fed him and clothed him and cared for him. She was perhaps the only person he had a fondness for. However, he could never muster the will in him to call her by anything else but her title; even 'mother' was a name for her he would not dare touch.

She smiled a smile that was hardly noticeable. He held out the portfolio of papers for her to accept, that was after all his objective in the beginning and it was only by pure coincidence that he encountered her in the main corridor. She took the portfolio in her hands and thanked him verbally, also adding a slight bow and a forward tilt of her head. He did nothing to reciprocate the sentiment but scoffed a very slight, "Tsk!"  
>Captain, though she was; Mayuri always felt a sense of humbleness come off of her when she was with him. The idea of it did not disturb him at all and in fact he often relished the fact that she relinquished virtually all of the control of the SDRI and the Twelfth Division to him. It was often said among the ranks of lower shinigami that like the Eighth Division, the Twelfth Division was led by its lieutenant rather than its captain.<p>

As she continued in her direction, he joined her at his usual place at her left. Silence was shared between them, the only words spoken was with the entourage of shinigami scientists and novices that the Captain had taken upon herself to introduce to and observe the division. Few of these scientists, he knew, had been with the SDRI since its formation and these were the few that both Captain and Lieutenant usually kept with them in the labs.

Work was usual, Reader, and more descriptions of the numerous experiments and monitoring the SDRI undertakes each hour of the day is hardly needed for an interesting story. Conversations were held while observing the labs. Comparisons were made between the current and the past. Arrangements, new and probable, were recorded for later days or years.

Having finished rounds around the lab and well late into the night, Mayuri began on his paperwork. His office was, by most standards, over exuberant for one of his rank. Protests were given when the Captain appointed the office to him, but her argument in her defence that it was essentially his and he should have free rein of it no matter what rank he held. He sat in front of the large blue screen of his computer, millions of characters running down the length of the monitor, his quick eyes caught all of them. Suddenly, there was the tell-tale sounds of echoing footsteps. The strides were much too even, were much too steady; he could easily guess who it was behind him approaching. He did not cease his typing, did not even look back at his Captain. But he did have the sense to greet her. "Good evening, Taicho."

There was the similar response from her, replaced with the title of his rank instead of hers.

The sound of footsteps did not stop at him, but continued to his desk at the far corner of the room which was usually reserved for the carbon paperwork. There was a clatter and the sound of water being poured. "Would you care for some tea? Mayuri-sama?"

He got up from his seat. Often, he had insisted that his captain should wait for him to at least achieve Bankai before addressing him with the suffix of -sama, but she nonetheless insisted on calling him that. It was perhaps one of the very very few instances that she would not go along with what he wanted. Why, he would ask. And she would answer; Because he was still her creator, no matter what incarnation he was born into. To further annoy her, he would point out the obvious fact that she too was a copy of the previous captain as he was. There would be no reply from her at that.

He carefully observed his captain as he chewed upon the piece of orange wagashi. She did indeed not look much older than him; her face was still evermore youthful and there was not yet a touch of grey to her hair. He remembered when he was much younger, her dark tresses would be bound together in a single braid that hung down her back; though now she twisted the braid up so that it was a thing kept out of the way and did not obscure the emblem of the Division on the white haori she wore.  
>He admitted that there was a distance between them. While he bore the face of their mutual creator and she was not yet an old crone, he felt there to be quite a gap, that she was literally his senior by more than a century. It was a very unequal standing to him.<p>

His Captain's smile broke the trance and he set his tea cup down on the desk, she remained leaning across the wooden form. She commented almost quite innocently to him, "You look just like him."

He did not understand why, but the very statement made him falter. Of course he knew that he looked like the man, stranger still that it was only a few years ago that he found old photographs that showed that man when the SDRI had first formed. It was uncanny at how both of them had styled their hair and even painted the same mask of black across their eyes. He then wondered if his choice of fashion was from an innate sense or his captain's upbringing of him.  
>He rolled his eyes, "Tsk!" She reached her hand towards his face and stroked his cheek, the white paint upon his face did not run on her fingertips. He narrowed his eyes at her.<p>

"You look just like him when he was younger, you know. I feel as though he is here again."

"Should I tear you to pieces when I get angry like he did?" Mayuri asked with a slight chuckle in his voice.

The Captain's expression did not change but appeared to grow softer. "When he did, he would always put me back together again. You're letting what others say influence your opinion on him again. It was not because he was cruel, they were surgeries for modifications. He... He performed them for almost everybody here. He was a captain that looked after his division well"

"He was also the only resident of the Maggot's Nest to have to be imprisoned in his own cell."

She closed her eyes briefly, "He was a man who many of us looked up to. People were frightened of him because they could not understand his genius."

Oddly enough, Mayuri was experiencing a strange jealousy for the late Captain.

The Captain realized this from their shared empathy. "You will be just as great as him."

But that was not why he was jealous. He had heard things from others about his 'father' and he had seen the proof of the man's sadistic natures from video recordings and hidden paperwork that the Captain confided in him only. There were living witnesses to how frightening the man had been and to what extents he had reached in the pursuit for knowledge, most of it being forbidden to mention at all and few had the stomach to recall and retell. He was filled with a sort of envy for the dead Captain who could still monopolize his Captain's thoughts and esteem more than he could. If anything, he heard from shinigami elders that though caution was still needed around him - the exact carbon copy of the previous Twelfth Division Captain - he was not so unstable as his creator.  
>Why was it that his Captain still… missed that man? Still spoke about him? Sometimes, he was not sure that it was him exactly that his Captain sometimes saw when they were at home; that when she spoke his name, it was not him she was thinking of then.<p>

Mayuri fell to his knees before her and placed his head upon her lap, his face already being warmed by her. The golden cones of his ears were tucked between her leg. He sighed exasperatedly. The Captain smoothed the blue hair on his head gently. He rolled his head so that his face was buried in her legs. His lips brushed by the fabric of her shihakusho, mouth already watering from the warmth of the flesh radiating beneath.

He heard her gasp out loud and took small pride.  
>She moaned his name, "Mayuri-sama…"<p>

The grip of his hands on her knees grew harder. "Why did you have me?" he asked passively, as though the answer would not matter much to him but it did in fact. Some days, he would hold it in to himself. But there were times when the words and thoughts would fill himself to such an extreme that he had to voice it out loud to the only witness to such event. Despite the shared empathy between him and the Captain and her comforts whenever he was troubled, it did not ease his frustrations as why he existed.  
>He knew the reason for himself: to continue the legacy of the creator. She knew that he knew. And yet it did not suffice it for him to accept only that reason as the basis of his life. Why should she choose to raise the copy of such a man from what he had read from previous reports and documents; and willingly at that? Why should she still idolize that man? Why should she wish upon him to be just like that man? The whole thing frustrated him and his ponderings upon the reason for his d'etre de raison plagued him whenever he faced silence and quietude.<p>

As always, none of her answers ever satisfied him; one day it was for this reason, another day it was a different reason.

Today was no exception. His ears buzzed at the breath of her words.

"Because I loved him too much."

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><p><strong>Oedipus complex is usually defined as a disorder where the son will regard his father as a rival for his mother's affections; that the son will also look upon his mother not as a parent but as a potential sexualromantic interest. The son will always be competitive with his father for his mother, especially since he is well aware that his father sleeps with his mother.**

**So here, Mayuri is jealous of his 'father' because he views himself to be more stable than him and yet Nemu seemingly shows preference for his 'father', she still misses him and 'loves' him. Mayuri views his mother/sister as a potential interest and views his 'father' as a rival although he is dead because Nemu still thinks about him all the time. He is also very aware of the incestous rumours concerning Nemu and his 'father' and once more feels envious.  
>Note that at this point, this Mayuri and Nemu's relationship has not yet become sexual. <strong>

**Mayuri isn't so cruel as his 'father'. Why? Because he understands himself to be more similar to Nemu than to the previous Mayuri. Because he is a false being like her, his countenance differs from the Mayuri we know. Essentially, it is still his character. He is ruthless and merciless and he likes fried pike and to read the Seireitei Communication in his spare time and to do experiments and dissect stuff. But he is different from Mayuri in that he is placed in a humbler mood because of his rank as lieutenant and that he did not have to go through the Maggot's Nest. **

**Plus while Mayuri at first had Kisuke to defend him as a shinigami then he had to rely upon only himself when Kisuke left the Soul Society, this Mayuri has Nemu to protect him. Plus... he's more child-like because he is a creation like Nemu and hasn't much experience in the world. For some strange reason, Mayuri has not given him his memories but has left this Mayuri as his own person to perceive things on his own without another's mind. **

**So while his habits are the same and his 'heart', he is not exactly the same as Mayuri. **

**So, what did you think?**


	2. Stepping Up

**Ngoc Chau does not own Bleach**

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><p>Nemu regarded Mayuri proudly as he was about to demonstrate another improved invention of her creator. It was as though he was embodying the very words of his father: science was limitless, always moving forward and ameliorated by one's imagining. She could not help to contain her smile at him and then reprimanded herself by looking away and trying to compose herself. But it was in those moments, watching Mayuri, that she felt her life was full and nothing more could be asked. Her eyes moistened for a second before she dried them with the edge of the haori sleeve. She was bombarded with thoughts of how much closer he was like his father. A fear before had always bothered her that she was not raising him well enough, that she was failing the last wishes of her creator; yet it was at times when she saw him work and create that she was relieved to think that she had at least done well enough for him.<p>

Mayuri had spent the last few months making careful additions to his father's classic Hojiku-Zai. Nemu had always thought that the serum was perfect as it was, that no other improvement could be added to it. But she had been proven wrong by Mayuri once again.

Upon stepping forward to the shaking volunteer up on the platform, he was quick in slicing off the volunteer's arm with his sealed zanpakuto. There was the shower of blood everywhere that wound up on almost everybody, yet all scientists maintained their composure in the spectacle. Mayuri injected the syringe of modified Hojiku-Zai, a darker murky green in the glass, into the wound and the effects were instantaneous.  
>"The most significant improvement to the serum is that the subject will not suffer through any pain of regenerating the lost limb." Mayuri began. There was a shared breath of relief throughout the crowd before him. As the limb grew back to its original state, there was the odd effect of a long streak of red upon the regenerated limb.<br>Mayuri continued his explanation, "Another change is the increased strength and durability of both the replaced limb and subject." He came at the volunteer again with his zanpakuto and Nemu was sure that he had sliced the arm off again. But his zanpakuto was stuck in the hold of the flesh. "As you can see, my zanpakuto cannot slice through as swiftly as it did before. And you can note down that the subject does not display the same pattern of pain as he earlier did. The serum works in dulling the nerves to a certain extent that the subject will still feel pain but not be bothered by it at all no matter the extremity."

He pulled out the blade with a sickening _sliishh_. Blood, thicker than it had been before, dripped drop by drop upon the floor. Before everyone's eyes, the wound healed itself miraculously. He pointed to the red streak upon the arm, "And there is no need for an additional dosage of the serum. As long as it remains in the system, it works continuously. Once this mark has disappeared, then so has the entirety of the drug." The shinigami began flexing his arm, marvelling at the sight before him. Of course, Mayuri would let no one else - even her or the subject - see the new creation until demonstration time.  
>Without anything being said, a struggling Hollow was brought it, large and wrapped in chains. Mayuri turned his attentions to the shinigami and ordered, "I want you to destroy that Hollow with your bare hands. No kido, no spells, no anything. I order you to kill it with only your hands."<p>

There was a look that Nemu and most likely everybody who was watching the blue-haired lieutenant saw in him; it was an apathy that essentially screamed _'If you don't succeed, then that's the end of you._' Those who were restraining the Hollow released it. Nemu fingered the hilt of her zanpakuto in case something should go wrong. Despite the unfailing faith she had in Mayuri, she was of a prudent and cautious nature. The Hollow lunged for the crowd, yet the shinigami was faster - he was equally surprised at his speed - and grabbed hold of the Hollow's head. Its jaws turned on the fist of the shinigami but could not bite through. In a moment, the Hollow's head was crushed in the grip of the shinigami, its body disappearing into black wisps then nothingness.

"Further evidence: the Hollow could not sever the hold of the hand upon its face and the reflexes of the subject noticeably increased to react to the movements of the Hollow." Mayuri gestured to the panting shinigami.

There was a hand raised in the audience to which Mayuri acknowledged and inquired if there was any questions about the serum. "Yes, what if a Hollow were to swallow someone who had taken the drug? Would it have any effect upon the Hollow?"

Nemu saw Mayuri's expression falter momentarily, only to be replaced by his usual grin. "Ahhh… that's very good thinking. Well, the Hollow would then undergo the same effect as anyone who had injected themselves with the serum." There was a worried murmur through the crowd, but it ceased as Mayuri raised his hand to indicate that he had more to say, "But there is an alternative to such a situation."  
>Once he placed away the syringe in his sleeves, he pulled out a small vial, blue in colour and teardrop-like in shape, from the inside of his jacket. "This should be carried with the Hojiku-Zai. Its function is to flush it out of the subject's system instantaneously. Here."<p>

In a blink of an eye and a snap of his fingers, six scientists had already made their way onto the platform and were holding down the arms of the shinigami. His eyes were frantic and he was begging that they let him go already. With a roll of his eyes, Mayuri filled an empty syringe with the 'antidote' and injected it into the red-marked arm of the shinigami. Once the dosage had been administered, a great space was offered to the shinigami who proceeded to wail and scream as though on fire, then convulsing heavily into the ground.  
>"Unfortunately." Mayuri began as he looked on the poor scene, "a side effect of this antidote is a searing pain that affects the entire body of the subject." The shinigami turned on his stomach and began vomiting. Quite quickly, the red mark on his arm faded away. There was genuine applause from the crowd and Mayuri gave orders for someone to escort the shinigami to the Fourth division to obtain medical attention and care.<p>

As he stepped off the platform and the crowd parted to make way for him and then to return to their own duties, he made his way to Nemu. The first thought that came to Nemu was that he had grown taller. When just earlier a few months ago, she was able to easily rest her chin on top of his head, his height had increased that she could easily look into his eyes.  
>She complimented him of the ingenuity of the serum, repeating her previous thoughts that it had not even occurred to her that the serum could be any more improved than the way it was. Although he acted with great indifference towards her words, Nemu could still sense the burning feelings of accomplishment inside of him.<p>

What followed afterwards was the habitual routine of work in the labs: a great deal of paperwork and supervising, of checking upon the monitors for anything odd that should be looked into. More shinigami came in and out of the SDRI, wanting new modifications upon the zanpakuto or having to deliver items to the waiting scientists and officers. Some came with the objective of minor surgery and picking up additions that had been compromised or damaged in battle. Others left with tests that made them blanch and with hopes that the second opinion they would get from the Fourth Division would be better.

There came a time with Nemu all by herself in her own office, jotting down the reports of the occurring day: making sure to make a progressive note about Mayuri. Her pen momentarily stopped as she thought about her son. The weight of his accomplishments were slighted in the face of his being. As much as she admired the differences in her son, she far preferred to see the developing similarities of her creator in him. There were times when they seemed like two completely different individuals despite the current Mayuri being a clone, but she would be eased when she caught glimpses of the familiar scowl, the habitual pacing, the certain bend in his hand as he worked. She thought of Mayuri as a son for that was what he was to her; yet in his semblance to the previous Mayuri, old feelings were being conjured up.  
>She was frightened to act upon them, perhaps her son would grow distant from her instead of closer as his father had. She had her suspicions of what he felt for her, yet she was shy to think that it was that and instead chalked it up to a deeper filial affection. But this type of love and relation seemed to run in their family and he was becoming so like his father that perhaps…<p>

Without warning, there was the sound of an explosion. This would not have bothered Nemu if not for the commotion outside her door, an officer of the Tenth division begging her to look at it. She got up from her seat and reported outside.

Her heart nearly stopped at the sight of what was in the sky. Her hands jumped to her mouth and she had to will herself not to laugh out in joy. Konjiki Ashisoji Jizo. It was a spectacle that she had spent years waiting for, hoping that one day she would see the released form of her son's zanpakuto. The red-caped child-faced caterpillar, flying high with a silver halo about its golden head. Not even thinking, she shunpo'd to the scene where she saw a group of Fifth Division shinigami collapsed on the ground. The air was thick and heavy with the remarkable purple miasma she knew so well from long ago. Mayuri stood victoriously over the bodies, a maniac's grin upon his face. There were no words exchanged, but she could just read the gloat in his expression, that he had achieved Bankai. However, there was the matter of those poisoned by Konjiki Ashisoji Jizo and unless they wanted the repercussions to come out of their funding and budget, they would have to be quick to administer an antidote to those affected.

Still, as the two of them - the only ones unaffected by the poison - collected the unconscious shinigami and brought them to a safe area free from the gas where officers then dragged them to the Fourth Division, Nemu could not cease telling her son just how proud she was of him.

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><p>"That was something I would not have foreseen for a while!" exclaimed Unohana cheerfully as she poured the tea for the two waiting first and second seats of the Twelfth Division.<p>

Though very late at night, she had insisted after taking care of those poisoned by Mayuri's Bankai to seeing the two of them for the 'sake of amity and tea' and had convinced them to sit in her Division for a cup. Nemu, though a captain, often found it difficult to say no to whoever asked her of something and Mayuri followed after her faithfully.

Unohana sat next to Mayuri, the lieutenant now having two braided captains on both of his sides, but it was quite easy to see to whom he felt more comfortable with. Quite noticeably, he shifted closer to Nemu and narrowed his eyes at Unohana. She continued her smiling though there was a heaviness in the air that could be felt.

Nemu placed her hand upon her son's knee, silently reminding him that this was an august elder captain that protocol demanded that she be paid the greatest attention and respect. She felt his response to be disagreeable when he looked away and his painted white hand gripped the hem of her white haori.  
>A habit that had stuck with him throughout all his life, she remembered, was that whenever Mayuri was not at ease, he would grab at whatever was close at hand which was usually her captain haori and roll it between his fingers as though nervous.<p>

Nemu spoke first, thanking Unohana for her immediate response to Mayuri's Bankai. She was also glad that Unohana had kept stock reserves of antidote upon her person for such an occasion.

Unohana laughed, saying that she thought she would never have had the chance to use the antidote. Then her eyes softened, but she was glad that she could've used it lest it go to waste.

However, Nemu caught sight of the ulterior message.

Nemu was not sure if her son was even aware that Unohana had set her cap to him as she had done to his father before, and it was from there that the affinity manifested itself. Nemu recalled numerous times when Mayuri's nature, overtaken by fatigue, became more affectionate and together they would lie in each others' arms. A hearty subject he often conjured up in fits of laughter was Unohana's obvious affections for him. He was a genius and he was not so dense to human nature and emotions to overlook such a thing from her. Nemu would always remain quiet when he talked of the braided captain that way, she did not feel comfortable adding anything that would further compromise his opinion of said captain. However, while the previous Mayuri had made his knowledge of her feelings for him quite discreet and did not so much show a contempt of her for it, masking it as friendly(?) competitiveness; her son was not so subtle and in Unohana's presence, he often made loud sighs and gave many excuses to leave the room. He once told her that he always felt that Unohana's attentions to him was crossing private boundaries to him and that sought to avoid her as much as possible, only willing to see her if she required it of him.

It would suffice it to say that Nemu felt a little bit sorry for her.

But Nemu could empathize with her to why she had fallen in love with her creator, he was a most extraordinary man.

The two ladies talked of old days and the mutual man they both loved, though Nemu was sure that the two of them had more to say, what was voiced was very brief and quite vague. Throughout, Unohana would tug at the lab coat sleeve of Mayuri and ask him if he wanted more tea or if he would like something to eat. He would only tersely look at her before directing his attentions back to Nemu, "No thank you, Unohana-taicho."  
>And Nemu would see the instantaneous look of helplessness on her face. A woman's intuition is very powerful. The smile would return and she would go on speaking with Nemu.<p>

After a while and once the tea pot was empty, Unohana remarked, "Your son, he is so very shy, isn't he? Not at all like your father was, he was always wanting to be the center of attention. They are actually very different from each other if you pay close attention."

At this Nemu became defensive. Her tone was still quiet as it always been, but she herself heard the upset in her voice, "He is very tired right now and he isn't feeling well. I think the two of us should be making our way home right now."

Truthfully, she could tell that Mayuri was getting tired, the tears welling up in his eyes whenever he yawned and a mellow sort of affection emanating from him. But she wanted Unohana to hear her speak.

The two of them left and returned home.

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><p>At home, the two of them talked over what was to be done for their work tomorrow. Mayuri was brushing Nemu's hair, she smiled inwardly that despite the generational differences, Mayuri's fondness for her hair had been passed down to his son.<p>

They were both in their hiyokus; she sat facing the mirror of her vanity while he sat in the opposite direction. He still kept his cones on his ears and the paint remained still on his body, he would wash it off later.  
>In the midst of talking about what new experiments would be undertaken and ideas for new poisons for his zanpakuto, Unohana came up once more. Again, Mayuri's discussion of her was nothing but unflattering. In comparison, the previous Mayuri had a lot more to complain about Unohana; this Mayuri was still so young, that he did not have much to say about her save his behaviour towards him.<br>Nemu chose to refrain from blurting that his father had went through the same as he was with Unohana.

"She must be daft to think that I would be interested in her." Mayuri commented upon Unohana. Though the views differed and so did the choice of words, it all went along the same lines that he was simply not interested in her. Though he was sure that she had loads to offer, they were just too different of people to ever have it work and her charms did not appeal to his tastes. He did not want to appear as the boy lover to some old woman.

She tried to rid herself of the ache in her chest at his comments. While the previous Mayuri had said many a great deal about Unohana; Nemu had always felt that besides her willing capitulation to him, her youth had also played an important part in their liaison. Men were always so eager for younger partners so that they could better control them and show off their knowledge and experience.  
>Now she was an old woman too with a grown son. The thought greatly disenheartened her.<p>

Mayuri ceased brushing her hair and leaned in his face into her tresses. She felt the breath of him inhale and exhale, the same nose poking into her and those same lips she knew in another life upon the skin of her shoulder. His arms wrapped around hers.

She was quite overcome by the familiarity of the situation.

Albeit she was sure that she hid her inner turmoil well, Mayuri said something that calmed her immensely, "But I would not mind those kind of attentions if it came from you, Taicho."

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><p><strong>I was going to make Mayuri make a gun, but then I thought: they have swords, what do they need a gun for? So I decided to improve upon the flesh-healing medicine. It was hard! So, still at this point, Mayuri and Nemu's relationship is still very parental. Mayuri does have more than inappropriate feelings for Nemu and Nemu feels it too. But she's worried that if she does anything, it might fuck the whole relationship up. It's sort of how Mayuri felt before(if you've read Kurotsuchi Medley) when he first 'did stuff' with Nemu. Plus, I thought it was nice to put in the part with Unohana so that a comparison could be made with Nemu to show that no matter what Mayuri would always choose Nemu over Unohana. That's the shipper in me. <strong>

**Also the chapter title can go different ways. It can mean Mayuri achieving Bankai or him confessing his feelings to her, I guess. **

**Oh, what's going to happen in the next chapter?**

**So... what did you think?**


	3. Like

**Ngoc Chau does not own Bleach**

**I know I'm moving fast, but there's only like seven chapters... Anyway, any questions of comments?**

**God I'm just copping out by reusing my fanfic ideas... how dumb am I?**

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><p>Nemu's eyes scanned over the monitor that the shinigami on shift was displaying. She nodded her head and complimented him on a job well done and that he should keep up the good work. The shinigami beamed and she moved onto the next shinigami to overlook his work. Suddenly, there was the sound of buzzing and an announcement asking for her to come to Lab 5 on Level 9 immediately. She was a captain and so rushing was beneath her. But the lessons and etiquette that had been beaten into her years ago incited for her to shunpo to the location.<p>

Upon arriving, she was greeted with a sight that had her exclaim, "Mayuri-sama!"

Mayuri laid convulsing upon the floor, hives breaking out and appearing even through the white paint he painted upon himself every morning. His arms clutched himself as though he was cold. His golden eyes were hazy, the blue hair in disarray. A circle of shinigami surrounded him, not a single one doing anything but watching. The only one showing even an iota of concern was Akon. He crouched close to Mayuri and was injecting something in his arm. Despite the care that Akon was showing him, his expression was quite indifferent as though this was nothing new.  
>Nemu swooped in, gathering Mayuri up in her arms. She carried him with ease as though he weighed as much as a little baby out of the labs into one of her offices that were supplied with basic necessities and a cot. She felt his arms around her neck squeeze tighter like he was afraid she would drop him. She would never drop him, even if her arms were about to rip, she would fall before she let him. Akon and his entourage of shinigami followed behind after her, she distinctly heard him telling them that this was between him and the captain only.<p>

Nemu laid Mayuri onto the cot and she so wished that she could've foreseen this is the future. She wanted to slap herself, she was always thinking about herself; why didn't she better prepare her office for something like this happening to Mayuri? She shushed quietly to him, telling him that she was there and everything was alright, that he was alright. His white hands gripped onto her captain haori and he would not let go. It almost broke her heart to see him so ill and holding onto her. He mumbled something but she could not hear it properly. The haori slipped off her frame onto Mayuri as he laid back onto the bed, beginning to sweat profusely.

Akon came in, a syringe in his hand. He gestured for her to not obstruct him as he moved in closer to her son, "He needs another dosage to flush the antibodies out of his system."

"Antibodies?" she asked.

Akon gave her a slight smile as he rubbed Mayuri's arm after giving him the shot. "He's been doing more than going through the Chief's old files."  
>Between them, 'the Chief' was always Mayuri and they both knew that she could never truly attain the status as 'Chief' despite her promotion. Despite the past between them, they called each other by their first names.<br>Akon continued, "He's been resurrecting every one of the Chief's experiments, even the ones that he…" _failed_, but it was not spoken because the Chief never _failed_. "Anyway, he's been adding his own touches to them - good ones - and just recently he found that antibody one."

The antibody! If she was not so worried about her son, she would've laughed at the irony of the situation. Like father, like son indeed!  
>"When did he start it?" she asked worriedly, rubbing her son's brow with the sleeve of her shihakusho.<p>

"He didn't tell me when exactly, but I remember just a month ago, he was showing me results that the antibody was working. Truthfully, I thought he was going to surpass the Chief with this."

Oh… Nemu thought, he's trying to be just like his father.

The two of them sat upon opposite sides of the cot, watching the son of the man that had done so much for the two of them.

Akon told her that she should just proceed with work as usual, Mayuri wouldn't have wanted her to stop work for him and so would the Chief. Of course, whenever he brought up the latter, Nemu knew that there was no point in arguing.

She thanked him for his help.

He told her that it was no problem, it was lucky that Mayuri had already developed something in advance to flush out the antibody; but he did not know how long it would take because Mayuri told him nothing more than the fact that he was resurrecting the old experiment.

Still she thanked him for the help she gave him.

She heard choking from the invalid upon the bed and before she had the time to react, Akon had already pulled out a waste basket from somewhere. Mayuri turned on his side and promptly threw up into it an olive green bile. The sight of it was much like a tube of toothpaste being explosively pressed out of all its content. Finally when it seemed that he had expelled a quarter of his weight, he flopped back upon the bed, breathing heavily.

Her tone grew bitter as she mentioned that nobody else around him had bothered to help him, only watched him.

Akon placed a hand upon her knee. "It's this place, it's what it does to you. It makes you empathetic and apathetic: you need to be like that to survive here."

He was right. How many times in the past had all of them watched a dying specimen, seeing it only as an answer? How many times had she been left beaten and battered until the very next day?

She felt his hand move higher on her leg, "Nemu."

After Mayuri's death, Akon was the first to comfort her. And Nemu knew what he felt about her, Mayuri told her once that that was what Akon harboured for her. He protected her from him, but could not protect her from himself. After Mayuri's death his body was not even rigid yet, she ran to Akon's arm. She accepted him because he only reminded her of her father: that they had both been in the Maggot's Nest, that they were men of science… Nothing more. She wanted the closest she could then get to her father and he was it at the moment before her son Mayuri came into the picture. She did not regret her interactions with Akon, but she thought it best to forget about it since she now had her Mayuri.  
>Mayuri was the only one important in her life now and she did not want him to be bothered. She recalled what happened to one new shinigami who had found himself infatuated with her, the next day a bomb had gone off in his room. Luckily he had not died because he was quick thinking to put up a shield. She knew it was Mayuri who had done it because he told her himself without her prompting. Even if he had not done it, she would not have become involved with the shinigami. She always told him that there was only his father. She had her Mayuri again, incarnated as her son.<p>

Akon was once more the jilted man, cheated by the person he ought to be thankful to - a dead man. His desire for her was luckily slighted by the SDRI, he remained there as the head scientist, a rank just below the lieutenant. She sometimes wondered how could he have loved and hated her creator: loved him because he had guided him and incepted new beginnings for him and then hated him because she loved her creator more than not him. How could he then love the boy so much that he did the right thing to help him? And then hated him enough to still want her?

Nemu moved her leg out of his reach and bent over to tuck the haori up higher to Mayuri's chin. She thanked Akon again and told him that they should leave Mayuri to rest, she would check out earlier today and take him home later.

Throughout the day, Nemu could not work with the same liveliness that she had earlier. All of her thoughts reflected upon Mayuri. Why was she still working? Akon could handle it himself, he had covered the position for her while she had mourned Mayuri and until she had coveted the position herself later by being promoted to Captain. She was worried. Akon stayed by her side and she did not push him away, but she made sure to keep some distance from him. There was no need for the past to arise now, particularly with Mayuri's jealous nature(that bombing incident was the first of many to follow).

Finally at an appointed time, she carried Mayuri home, he was still sleeping and she was glad that his recuperation was going better than it had before for her creator. She set him in his own room, her haori still wrapped around him. He was perspiring a cold sweat and she thought it best to change him out of his clothes into fresh ones. As she undressed him, she felt stirrings rising up in her. It was definitely improper to be thinking such thoughts when he was sick, but she could recall something like this happening long ago. She tried to go at it quickly. She thought that she should wash the paints off of him, but reconsidered because the strain might not help with his recovery.

He began to toss around after she had just finished changing him into his hiyoku to better sleep in. His golden eyes opened and there was an odd expression in them that she did not recognize and knew it not to be like him. He was mumbling something that she could not hear and she sat before him upon this bed. She smoothed the blue hair out of his eyes and rubbed his head. She asked him if something was the matter, if he was thirsty or hungry.

Tears welled up in his eyes and he lunged out of his sleeping spot for her. She was startled by the action, but did not resist him. He trembled as he held her and it took a while for Nemu to realize that he was crying. His sobs compromised his words but she heard them clearly, she wondered if this was what he was saying then when she had first brought him to her office. "Muh… muh… muvver!"

He had never called her by mother before. Usually it was by Taicho and when he was especially upset or wanted her attention, he would call her by her name. But never mother. She smoothed his back, whispering soothing things to him and telling him that, "Mother is here."

There was a sudden turn and she did not expect it. He pulled away from her only to pull apart the opening of her shihakusho. This was moving too fast for her, but it was when she saw him clawing at the bra that covered her chest and his repeating cries of, "Mamma. Mamma. Mamma…" did she understand then what he wanted.  
>She told him that there was no milk there all the while slipping the shihakusho off of her shoulders and unhooking the bra to toss it onto the floor. His mouth eagerly sought her nipple and he suckled at it. It was different from the sort of thing that her creator had done in moments of passion, this was more like - and she regarded upon this moment with a tinge of regret - a mother and baby.<p>

Since that day, she had never thought she would be able to hold any child of his and raise it. He had surprised her first with his death and then the gift of the boy in her arms. She didn't care if he was his own son, she didn't care if what she felt for him might be wrong; she only wanted to be with him again. Fate works in the most mysterious ways sometimes that it is often best never to question it. She thought heavily upon the extraordinary path of her life and existence, how it should differ so from everybody else. And she thought back on what Mayuri had said to her the night he achieved Bankai. They had not spoken about it. She wondered, did her creator feel this way with her, the same way she felt with Mayuri? Was he afraid of becoming too close with her? Strange that there were still unanswered questions about him that Nemu imagined that she would never knew despite the shared empathy between the two of them. He had always been a pillar of strength and confidence for her, her guidance into the world. Now he was gone and she could only depend on herself. But there was her son that made it bearable for her to go on without her creator. She briefly wondered what should happen to her son if the same fate befell on her as it did for his father.

Her thoughts were interrupted as she felt a sharp pain at her tit. There was a small responsive grunt from her throat. She smoothed her hand over his neck, hoping that he would not bite so hard next time. He continued suckling greedily for nothing, she offered her other tit for him but he was content with the current one. His hands gripped her hakama. Oddly, there was nothing sexual about the situation, what with the age and feelings between the participants. This was simply an event between mother and child.

Not too soon after, he fell asleep, she was still in his grip. Carefully, she set him back down on his bed and tucked him in like a good mother, like when he was younger. She rearranged her shihakusho and made her out. She would prepare some miso soup for when he woke up.

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><p>The next morning as she came downstairs to the kitchen, she was greeted by the sight of Mayuri, healthy and well, at the table drinking tea and looking over notes. The smell of powder indicated to her that he had washed off the paints from yesterday and reapplied it, that he had also showered too. She smiled a small smile to him, he didn't smile back but she was still comforted when he put down his pencil.<p>

"You're all better." she stated as she sat adjacently to him.

"Hmm, the only satisfying thing that came out of that ordeal was that my antibody lasted longer than his before it turned on the subject and that my medicine to flush it out was quicker than his." He appeared so serious and passive when he spoke but she knew otherwise.

"I was so worried about you." she began, "Why didn't you tell me that you were working on that experiment? Your father was put out for two weeks because of it. That was very risky on your health."

He scoffed, "It was one of his failures. I would've been one step closer to surpassing him if I could've remedied it. So, what was I like yesterday?"

She asked him to be more specific about his question.

"I want to know what I was like when I became sick. I want to know the effects of when the antibodies turned on me and when they were being flushed out of my system." he told her.

She asked him if he did not remember anything at all from yesterday.

He rolled his eyes, "If I did, I wouldn't be asking you about it."

She answered as best as she could, telling him that he began convulsing on the ground and lost use of his mobility. He suffered hives and chills. Then upon taking the medicine - besides noting the rather instant effect - he threw up a great deal, the hives were gone, but he continued sweating.

That's it, he asked?

She added that he slept very heavily and experienced some delusions.

At this, a non-existent brow rose. "Delusions?"

She only told him that he was not thinking correctly but it did not last long until sleep claimed him once more. Nemu did not feel that she should tell him of his uncharacteristic phase of calling her mother and acting quite infantile: sucking at her breasts and crying. She breathed with relief when he didn't probe more into it.  
>Then she placed her hand on his, "I'm so glad that you're alright." She blushed as he did, the rosy glow appearing below the painted block across his eyes.<p>

He pulled his hand away and she was hurt by the action. But there was a reason for that; his hand slipped into the folds of his shihakusho and he pulled out something lacy.  
>Looking away as though embarrassed by the sight of it, the blush still remaining on his face, he returned it to her, "You left this on the floor in my room."<p>

She took the lacy white bra from his hand.

As she headed up to her room to place it away, he asked, "Did that have anything to do with my delusions yesterday?" There was a sort of grin on his face that so reminded her of his father and the way he leaned forward, his cheek being supported by his propped up arm.

Though he did not voice, the two of them knew the question to be rhetorical.

* * *

><p>Work was usual. Reader, there is hardly any more description needed to say what other sort of work was done other than that it was long and tedious and there were few explosions here and there. But this needs mentioning, certainly.<p>

A particular occasion began spinning gears in Nemu's head. As they were leaving a certain lab, they passed by a reflective mirrored wall. She took her appearance into consideration. She did not look as she did years before. The sheen of her hair had diminished over the past years albeit she had taken good care of it, it was twisted into a winding braid to keep out of the way. Her green eyes were not so wide anymore and age framed them. Her body was not that of a young girl blooming into adulthood gracefully but was that of a woman, grown and adult. Her style of shihakusho had grown conservative, she could not get away with wearing a mini-skirt anymore now that she was a captain and a mother. Her zanpakuto that she had always kept away was by her side as it should be there. The white captain haori added years to her appearance.

She had changed, she had grown old.

She realized that it was nearly time, that her time would be coming soon and so was Mayuri's. It was time to open her creator's notes again and begin upon **_it_** soon. Nemu turned her thoughts and attentions to Mayuri. She was not witness, but she had seen photos of when his father was younger since the first days of the SDRI and the resemblance was uncanny: as though he had stepped out of the past into now. He had grown more in the past few months that she could not see the top of his head as easily as before.

It was a sort of blow to her perception of the world, seeing her and Mayuri standing together.

Not so long ago, it was he who stood proudly in front and she who followed behind him obediently.

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><p><strong>The title could indicate, "Like father, like sondaughter" or as the verb used in an affectionate meaning. **

**Oh, what might Nemu be beginning again? What will happen next chapter?**

**I was glad to give Akon a roll in this chapter. I felt it to be important to let people know what happened to Akon after Mayuri's death. He's still stuck in teh same rut: same rank and still wanting another man's woman. **

**The motherhood scene... I forget why I left it in there... Damn...**

**So, what did you think?**


	4. Unthinkable

**Ngoc Chau does not own Bleach**

**Okay, the reason for this chapter is that it's a chapter of foreshadowment. Something important is going to happen in the plot soon and this chapter warns you of it. Also, I want to show that Mayuri is becoming more like his father, that it's beyond his control now. And plus... this chapter is meant to speed up the intimacy and relationship of Mayuri and Nemu. Because I will tell you that the rating is going to go up very very soon!**

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><p>"How much more reckless can you be? I know that this is one of the effects of your zanpakuto, but you didn't need to throw yourself out there like that! Do you expect everyone to think of you as brave and courageous, doing what you did? Anyone with a lick of common sense would call that moronic! You do not let some Hollow trap you in his jaws, especially when the one behind you has his own zanpakuto at the ready! Do you know how many times I almost stabbed you! Then what would happen? Honestly, I swear that the reason they don't have us on the battlefield more often is because we're being led by a captain who thinks it okay to prance around and let the enemy have their way with her! They were tearing into you and don't you tell me that you were made to handle that sort of treatment. When you have a sword, you use it! Do you have any idea how humiliated I felt to let everyone see you, with those Hollows tearing your clothes off as they tried to kill you? Did you want them to ravage you?..."<p>

Mayuri yelled endlessly at his captain as his hand glowed green with kido to heal her.

He was silently cursing his 'father', he suspected that it was because of that man that his captain had such a unique zanpakuto.  
>The Captain's zanpakuto's abilities was unlike anything he had ever seen before. It was not enough that her blood upon the blade of her zanpakuto made the steel hot enough to cut through bone as though it was melted butter; but for every attack that her zanpakuto blocked and that was inflicted upon her body, the zanpakuto could return it double to her opponent. Greater was her Bankai which returned the attacks tenfold. Despite the ability, her zanpakuto was not capable in healing her and so that was where he came in.<p>

Mayuri complained endlessly to his captain. The SDRI had chosen to go out for a field expedition and they had encountered several large hollows. His words trailed off in a series of mutterings about how foolish she acted and she was a captain at that!

His captain told him that she was fearful that he would've been hurt. He halted in his healing of her.

She was worried about him.

She had the nerve to lie there all bloodied and broken on the couch while he was healing her, and tell him that she was worried he was going to be hurt!

He sat in silent awe for some time before he realized it and then tried to compose himself, scoffing, "Don't be such an idiot about it, Nemu. Both of us are capable of Bankai and so to worry about me like a little child is unnecessary."  
>His anger was something he could never understand. How difficult it always was to control when he knew that he was being irrational. How could someone be rational and impassioned at the same time? The words burst forth before he could stop them, "I'm not a stupid little child! I am an adult in my own right and I am more than capable of fighting my own fights!"<p>

Now what was he saying? His words were running before his thoughts. It was as though something had taken control of him and was making him say things that he would not have dared to say to his Captain. He had felt it coming upon his lately, this insatiable irritancy at his captain. He knew he was angry because she put herself in danger for him when she ought not to, it should be him who rescued her instead of her him. Would she have done the same thing for his 'father'?  
>One side of him told him that yes, she would've done the same thing for the only - he spat at that thought - man she ever loved.<br>The other told him that she wouldn't, that she had faith in the previous captain in his power to be able to defeat a group of hollows single-handedly.

He felt horribly emasculated to have his captain defend him. Even more so of a little child that still hid behind her black hakama and white haori. He was so sick of it! He tried to not let it bother him, but hearing even what others said about him: that he was a 'mommy's boy' and that everything he was able to attain was only because the captain was his mother and the son of the man she loved. He didn't need his captain - his mother - to coddle him.

Before he knew it, he was rambling and tripping over his words. She sat up and raised a hand towards him. As though from instinct, he snapped away from her and drew his hand back.  
>But he stopped himself, holding the shaking hand far from the two of them.<p>

She had winced at his action and he felt horribly guilty for it. What was he doing? What was coming over him? His hand slowly returned to his side as his captain cupped his face in her hands. His golden eyes fell into her green ones and he was overwhelmed. There seemed to be something between them that he did not want to break. Her expression was soft and caring. And he could only be amazed at her patience and heart.

She leaned forward, her lids fluttering closed. He kept his own open, wanting to see what she would do, if she would actually do it.

She kissed him upon the lips.

And if he was not so much in shock over the action so foreign to him, he would've grabbed her for more. The kiss ended as quickly as it had began and he was speechless.

She smiled her simple smile to him, "I cannot imagine what I would've done without you by my side."

He wasn't sure if she was speaking about this event or if she meant something more.

His silence was an appropriate response to the verbal musing.

He could never imagine himself without her either.

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><p><strong>So, what did you think? Too messed up? Too jumbled? Truthfully, I felt that this chapter needed to be written, but I didn't like it so very much and I sort of struggled with it.<strong>


	5. Ambivalent

**Ngoc Chau does not own Bleach**

**Okay, so I know that I'm moving this rather fast, but there's only a few more chapters until the end and then there's also a sort of deleted/alternate takes chapter where I post up stuff that I deleted from editing where it was good stuff, but it just had no place in the flow of the story. **

**The reason for this chapter, besides showing how Mayuri is growing is also supposed to show how close they are and it was something that the last chapter foreshadowed. This is not the resulting chapter of last chapter, but it's more foreshadowment. **

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><p>Nemu was growing nervous just as the meeting seemed to be coming to its end for the proposition that she wanted to discuss had not yet been introduced by the Soutaicho. Though her fears were put to rest when the Soutaicho finally turned the floor over to her, telling all of the other captains, "Kurotsuchi-taicho has something that she would like to discuss with all of us."<p>

She had thought her confidence had grown since her creator's death, but there were times she still imagined herself to be the timid, submissive lieutenant of the Twelfth Division, that often had no point in any sort of conversation. She cleared her throat and stepped forward, made sure that all of them could hear her. "I would like to recommend Kurotsuchi, Mayuri to apply for the Captain Proficiency Test."

There was an audible hush over the audience and one captain spoke up first, "Are you sure that's what you really want right now, Kurotsuchi-Taicho? I'm not saying that he doesn't have the qualifications to be a captain, but he is perhaps it would be best to wait a few more years before we let him take the Captain Proficiency Test. He's only learned Bankai not too long ago, he must hardly be able to do anything more than summon it and poison everybody. Give him some more time to mature into the role and to learn how to effectively use it. Besides, there are no open posts for Captain right now."

A few more responses went around. From the Third, Sixth and Ninth, there was some support but it was very unenthusiastic. There was the usual response from Eleventh that reasoned that her son was too young to be captain and he would "Fuck everything up." There was a strange ardour from the Tenth which gave its support to Mayuri. Again, the main argument against her son being captain was, "There's no available spots for Captain in the Gotei 13."

"Then I volunteer in stepping down as the Captain of the Twelfth Division." she said almost immediately.

Again there was an audible hush.

"That does not seem to be very wise of you, Kurotsuchi-Taicho. It would seem to be a waste of a person, especially just so that one's own child could be a captain." The Soutaicho said, "Forgive me for saying this, but your father the previous captain of your division was a captain that most was not comfortable with. His loss was a great one and we were fortunate to have you his daughter take up his mantle. But that was only because he was gone. We see no reason for you right now to lose your position simply because your son has just achieved the final stage of his zanpakuto."

She felt indignant but did not show it. Her creator was a good man and the fact that they could forget it so easily and not even show respect in his death made her all the more indignant. "My purpose to my late captain was not to continue his legacy for him, but to bring up his true successor, his son, until the time came for him to be made a captain. The time is now and I request that he be allowed to take the Captain Proficiency Test and when he passes, he should be made captain of my division. I am very willing to step down for him and retire. Although it was very recent that he learned Bankai, he is more than capable of performing it: in fact he is very close to mastering it."  
>She knew she had no fear nor nothing to influence their decision of her request or to blackmail them onto her terms. But she could only hope that her conduct and merit could be worth something at this crucial moment. She admitted that her creator's reputation had somewhat tarnished everybody's opinion of her boy already and even now it was close to preventing him from possibly being recognized as one powerful enough for the captain class; all because they feared that he would be too much like his father. His father was someone to fear, yes, but he was also someone to be admired. He did what the other captains had done as well, but in an unorthodox method that had others question his motives. She so wished that they could recognize Mayuri to be worthy, she already knew he was, but let them see it too.<p>

A period of silence passed and her nerves were strung tighter with every second. Would they decline her? If so, what could she tell Mayuri? Would she have to allow them to deny her boy's birthright, the very purpose of his life?

With a groan as he leaned forward upon his cane, the Soutaicho told her that he would agree to allow her son to take the Captain Proficiency Test, but there was a condition that must be paid to. "We will let him, but we cannot guarantee that he will immediately be promoted to the post of Captain. For it is in the best interests that we keep you as captain and then he will be made a captain later on when an opening becomes available."

"But" Nemu began, "he must be made a captain of the Twelfth Division, no other could suit him. If I must stay a captain, I would rather be transferred to another division and allow him mine."

Another captain said her word, "If Kurotsuchi-taich is so determined to let her son be captain in her place, I think that we should allow it. Kurotsuchi -taicho is well liked by all and I think it would be acceptable for her to be transferred elsewhere. But like the late captain, perhaps her son is only suited for the Twelfth Division."

At first, ambivalent murmurs were spoken between standing captains and then they turned approvingly. Nemu smiled at Unohana for her piece and was thankful that the woman had such belief in her son. It was amazing that depending on which captain's words were heard, others would be swayed as well. Nemu would have to remember to tell Mayuri that it was thanks to Unohana's support in him being captain that he got it.

The Soutaicho agreed; Nemu would remain the captain of the Twelfth division until another opening became available to which if her son was deemed sufficient to be captain, he would take over her post and she would be transferred to another division. All that was needed now was for her son to arrange a date with the Soutaicho and two other captains so that they could see him display his abilities with his bankai.

* * *

><p>Nemu had left the Captain's meeting happy and eager to tell her son the news. Upon arriving, she saw that he was busy at work, his portfolio in his hands and surrounded by a circle of shinigami who were aimless and looked to him to know what to do. She waited until he was finished giving out instructions to talk to him.<p>

She approached him and he acknowledged her with a nod of his head and a very terse, "Taicho."

She told him of what had transpired in the Captain's meeting, that she had managed to gain their approval in letting him apply for the Captain Proficiency Test. At his silence, she also added that she had the most confidence that he would pass and become Captain.

"And of what division would I be the captain of, Taicho?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"You would be the captain of this division." she answered.

With this, he raised a non-existent brow and asked what would become of her.

She replied that once there was an opening for a captain, she would be transferred to that division to take over the post while he would remain with the Twelfth to be its new Captain.

Though his voice was expressionless, she sensed a concern from him, "Can't you become my lieutenant if I am to be the new Captain of the Twelfth?"

She shook her head and answered almost regretfully, "The condition that they told me if you were to take the Test was that I would have to remain as a captain. I agreed. No other division but this one could be led effectively by any other but you. I have only been tending to this division until you would be ready to lead it. This is your father's legacy to you."

He opened his mouth to speak, but his attentions were diverted to a couple of shinigami around the corner who were not so discreetly listening in on them. "Just because I'm talking doesn't mean you can stop working, you eavesdroppers! Get back to work or so help me, you'll find yourselves my new test subjects!"  
>Shinigami ran away in a flurry.<p>

She saw him chew on his bottom lip, his neck and head stiffen. He was breathing hard and he turned to her, his eyes narrowed to her in a way that she had seen directed at others but never saw directed solely at her. Nemu felt quite uneasy to face him angry for he had never appeared angry at her; upset and disagreeable now and again, but never angry.  
>"Of course I would rather stay in this division. Every time I am subjected to speak to those of other divisions, particularly the Eleventh, I feel that my IQ drops with every work. Thinking that way, I suppose that I will decline the chance to take the Captain Proficiency Test."<p>

Her eyes widened at what she was hearing from him. Why should he decline? Anybody would be honoured to have someone recommend them for the chance of being the captain. Why was it that he did not want to assume this august role?  
>She voiced her thoughts, "Why?"<p>

He carelessly opened the portfolio that had been in his arms. His fingers skimmed through the pages of it. There was an arrogance in his eyes as he looked upat her, his head tilted at an angle that in the light had her reminisce back to her creator.  
>" 'Why?' " he mocked her, his brows furrowed, "Why indeed. Because I have no desire to go to another division and I can only see your abilities and qualities being wasted for some other slack jawed division when it could be put to better use here in the SDRI. Therefore, until I see that you have become useless to our work, you'll stay here in the twelfth by my side as the captain and I as your lieutenant. Cynical and impudent as it may sound coming from your lieutenant, <em>Nemu<em>." he accented heavily upon her name, "albeit you wear the captain's haori here, it is I who runs this division."

And she was not at all offended. Nemu could feel nothing but pride and admiration for the boy before her. She smiled that small smile she had not smiled in so long, only reserved for the man who could not take seeing anything but seriousness when it came to business and work.  
>"Yes, Mayuri-sama." She bowed to him and rose, feeling quite young as though it was years ago that she wore the lieutenant's badge, that was now on her son's arm, on her own.<p>

Yes, she thought, he would make a very marvellous captain.

Then together they went on their rounds about the labs to check up on their subordinates; however she noticed most acutely that despite his strong words earlier, Mayuri remained a step behind her.

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><p><strong>Despite him being rude, I want you guys to sort of read that he would turn down being captain to stay with Nemu. Sweet, huh? He just doesn't want to be all gushy about it. Ah, the reason why the kiss isn't on their minds is because thy're working. But to keep you on your seats. I will tell you that the next chapter is a lemon. Between Mayuri and Nemu. An actual lemon scene happening between them. <strong>  
><strong>Why? Wait to find out.<strong>  
><strong>How? I will be sure to describe it graphically for you(naughty!)<strong>  
><strong>When? Chapter should be coming out in two days or so, but the setting for it takes place about two months from this chapter and everything is still... usual in a sense. <strong>

**Stay tuned!**

**But what did you think?**


	6. No Air

**Ngoc Chau does not own Bleach**

**So... here it is!**

**Plus it contains Mayuri's backstory. **

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><p>What had happened?<p>

The memory was a blur and all she could recall was that they had gotten home and there were some heated words from Mayuri about something, about her.  
>She had tried to calm him down, to pacify him in case he might do something rash and regretful. Then some unexpected force had passed that they were now lying in the hallway, tangled up in each other and their clothes, not yet having reached any of their bedrooms.<p>

The hardwood floor was rough on her knees. She was on her belly, clawing at the floor fruitlessly. She mewled as Mayuri peeled away more of her shihakusho from her back. He dragged his face down the length of her spine, his tongue flicking out to lick at her. She felt his leg push against the back of her thigh and she grew wetter at the touch. His hands slipped beneath her clothes; one hand found her breasts and rolled the nipple between his tips, the other forced its way under her obi into her hakama to rub at her womanhood. She cried at the sensuality of it.

She begged him to wait for her.

He growled that he would not wait, that he had already waited enough and would not for any longer.

She twisted her body to face him as he moved higher on her body. Did she do that? Did she encourage him further by stripping his kosode and jacket from his thin painted shoulders in blind passion? She matched him that her own had been removed by him. They looked at each other for some time. She scanned her eyes over what could be seen of him, looking for what she recognized.  
>His head dove to kiss the hill of her breasts and she sighed contentedly at his caresses.<p>

_I want you. Let me touch you. Please. You are the only one. There is no other. Yes!_ His thoughts invaded hers and she happily returned them. A medley of thoughts. _Yes! Yes! Do you like it? Yes! Kiss me there again! You feel so good! Put your hand there! Harder! Closer! Yes! Just like that! Hold it right there! Yes, that feels amazing! So good! Higher! Like this, like this! Wait._  
>Their clothes were completely gone from their bodies, making comfortable bedding upon the floor. Upon her back, Mayuri poised above her body and seemingly eager to get on with it, she aided him in physically demonstrating how he was to enter, her hands secure around his shaft. She opened her legs wider, the knees raised high over the level of his spine, and she joined the two of them together. He shook as he ventured inside her. She felt him move inside and she gave hearty groans of approval.<p>

He trembled all throughout. The paints upon his body were smeared by her clawing hands, his hair was dishevelled as those same hands of her tangled themselves in his blue locks. She felt him handle her hips, wanting to proceed with this on his own. She would always be ready to let him experiment, learn what there was in using another's body for his own pleasure. She needn't smother him in every little thing.  
>He continued his thrusting into her, she made sure to bring her hips up to meet his in order to make sure that his first time would be very enjoyable and that he was fully pleasured. His movements were erratic and different from the last and next, testing waters with each other. Their bodies moved together in some innate primitive dance that was clumsy, coarse, and rough. But she relished the release in each other.<p>

His lips moved from her mouth to the side of her neck, nipping there and his grunting went off like cannons close to her ear. Finally, his body seemed to freeze itself over her and she felt the familiar shaking of him, the waves that moved throughout his body. He fell atop her and she sighed into his shoulder, kissing him there and the skin by the base of his ear-cones. She thought that he would fall asleep as his father often did whenever moments of passion came over him. But she was wrong.

Instead, she was surprised to see him rise to his own two feet and carry her as though she weighed nothing to him. His eyes looked into and through hers. They entered the doors of the closest room that held a bed within, which incidentally was his room.

He gently set her down upon his bed and proceeded by giving great attention to the length of her legs that dangled over the edge. Her eyes were focused intensely on the sight of his lips, brushing first by the ball of her heel. Then they slid down her calf, the pink of his tongue poking out between the painted lips black and white. Starting from beneath the knee, he placed quick, soft kisses that made her stomach jump every so often. Closer and closer, down the measure of her thigh his tongue protruded out and lapped at her as though she were a piece of candy for him. He passed over the triangle of her below and rested his chin at her bellybutton, placing another kiss there before he climbed up onto the bed to join her.  
>She moved to accomadate him and so that he should have some room to move about. Obviously, he was feeling more emboldened for he was forceful to already grab a hold of her thighs and hips and arrange them so that he should easily move in between and closer. Though he had fumbled at first, he was able to enter into her once more and she gave a cry to the fulfillment of him.<p>

He seemed so much more sure of himself, his hands moved agonizingly slow over her drenched skin as he moved in and out of her. Hitting a magic spot inside of her that resulted in her squirming beneath him and begging him to give more to her. The bed offered more chances to be flexible than the floor did and she arched into him to incite him to go in deeper while he followed the bend of her body. A human _S_ upon the bed. It was not so long later that the two of them reached a climax and remained tangled in each other on the bed. Nemu rubbed Mayuri's back with a contented smile drawn on her lips. He was lightly snoring, and she realized him to have exhausted himself.

As much as she wanted to remain in his arms and sleep the rest of the night away with him, the nagging feeling that there was a mess out there in the hallway bothered her most acutely. And she knew that it would not go away until she cleaned up the mess.

Carefully, she loosened Mayuri's arms around her and got up from the bed. He remained sleeping. She had to smile at how ardent he had been to the point that it seemed that nothing could wake him up but his own will. Nemu could not help but look back upon the sleeping face of her son and so bent over his form to place a kiss upon his cheek as she got off the bed. While doing so, she was greeted by the warmth of his body and so hesitated in leaving him.

She was not so sure if she would - if she should - return to his arms once the mess was taken care of.

She went out to clean up the bundle of clothes they had left behind. As she put them in the hamper to be cleaned, her feet had already taken her back to her room. She took notice of her surroundings as she wore her hiyoku to cover up her nudeness. Then Nemu was tempted for some fresh air before she allowed sleep to overcome her. She opened up the window in her room and swiftly swung outside. She managed to shimmy up onto the roof and seated herself comfortably.

Looking up, feelings of nostalgia rose up in her while gazing at the full autumn moon. And then she thought back to him, to Kurotsuchi Mayuri. A tear rolled down her cheek and she quickly dried it.

She had never imagined he could die.

She was always ready to throw down her life for him that the thought had never occurred to her that he was capable of dying one day. One moment he was there, and the next he was gone. She did not like to dwell upon the circumstances of his death for she feared that if she remembered it, she would go utterly mad from grief. It was enough for her, just bearable enough, to accept the fact that he had died and was gone.

Just the words alone in her head, _'He died_.' was more than enough for her. Anymore added would have her become a lunatic and break into pieces that no one could ever possibly put back together.

Akon had served somewhat in only momentarily numbing the pain and taking care of the division as she grieved and mourned for her father. But between that, the sadness was so intense that often then she had considered taking her own life in the hopes of either rejoining her father or being set free from the hurt.  
>What had stopped her?<br>Oh yes, everybody who thought she would do just that. They kept her under close monitor, even gagged her to make sure that she should not bite through her own tongue and drown in her blood. It was all a blur during that period of her existence; dark nights gazing up at the skies, fleeting dreams when she could see his face again, moments of frenzy when she lost sense of herself.

And then came the day when it would all change.

He had left a will, he had foresaw the day that he would not be around anymore, that she would eventually outlive him.

Everything was to be left to her, it had read.

She was the lieutenant after all of the Twelfth and its daughter organization. She heard the snickers, the doubts that she would be able to lead both of them. She believed them, what was she to do without the only person who she had always looked to for guidance.  
>Hinamori was the only one that gave her support. Nemu expected as such for she had gone mad herself after Aizen had betrayed them all. The two lieutenants were suddenly understanding of each others' madness and circumstances. Hitsugaya supported Nemu for he also supported Hinamori.<p>

Everything would be left by her, nothing excluded.

She became a very influential and wealthy person in one reading.

But, the reader of the will concluded, this was only one half of the will that Kurotsuchi Mayuri had prepared and left behind. The rest of it laid in whatever room that the key opened, the will reader told her as he presented the key to whoever would take it for her.  
>Nanao held onto it, she had recalled, then handed it to her.<p>

When had she finally decided to look for the room?

Was it when Akon prompted her to do it for the Chief? Was it when the scientists at the SDRI were so fed up with their curiosity that they were demanding she find out what else had been left to her? Was it when she had received in the mail a written letter from her late captain, penned so many years ago and meant to be delivered upon a quarter-year after his recorded death, that ordered if she hadn't found the room now she was being ordered as the last wishes and commands of her captain to do so.

Even gone, there existed an instinct in her that felt as though he was directing her to where this hidden room was. It was in his office, another level below it and completely devoid of life. Dust coated everything and she wondered when he had been in that room himself long ago. It seemed that no one else but him had occupied and used the room. This was something that not even their colleagues knew about, she thought, a complete secret even from her that only he harboured. She was fearful that perhaps she should not be there after all.

Upon closer inspection, it was no room but a lab. There was a sole metal slab where the subject would've been strapped to. All the walls were lined with monitors and computers. A shelf of tools and other ornaments meant for their work rested in some far off corner. And then at the very front of the room was a series of specimen jars, all of them appeared to be meant to house creatures of great size, particularly human size. But not all of them were empty. No. In the very center of the series was body. And she had cried at the sight of it. No, she had cried at the sight of him. Without even realizing it, she had come close to the tank to closer inspect the being inside.  
>At first, she had thought <em>him<em> to be hidden away, that his death had been faked. But on closer inspection, she realized that it was not him. Not a single scar adorned his body and the being inside looked very very young. Not like the man she remembered, but the ghost of him: a child of him. The blue hair was the same as she remembered, perhaps this one looked to be a little more downy. The complexion was still dark, though this one was not as dark as he had been. Then she was taken aback as the being inside opened his eyes, and then slowly closed them as though returning to sleep. Well, the eyes were the same.

She didn't know what she was thinking then, but her first courses of action was to properly drain the tank and get him out of there. When she finally got him out, her heart melted for him. He was a child! And how closely he resembled her creator!

Promptly, she had brought him to the division barracks and set him up with clothes that she ordered for his size. Why, the top of his head had barely reached her hip. For the first month, Nemu had kept him a secret installed him into an ample sized room filled with books and bedding. She visited him by the hour, making sure that he was comfortable and in want of nothing. He was so like a child: quiet and shy. He seldom said anything and when he did it was, "I'm hungry" and "I'm tired." She had thought it adorable when he was tired for he would always cry when she was not there and she would have to stay until he fell asleep. Suffice it to say, she thought herself adequate in taking care of him. It was not so difficult for he was a quiet sleeper and his mental development was surprisingly quick.

The comparison was vast for when she had first brought him into their home, he was virtually incapable of anything by himself, always requiring her assistance for the most basic of living and needs. Yet at the end of the month, he was independent enough to take care of his own toiletries like brushing his teeth, stating his thoughts in coherent sentences, and walking by himself. She thought it quite grand and regretted that she had not birthed the child herself.

It had been a month since she had found the room and another ancient letter penned from her late captain was delivered to her.

It was as though he knew that she had obeyed his will for the letter began with the sentence, "_Now I've given you a son_."  
>The details that followed was that he was just like her, born from the results of false soul and false body experimentations and trials. He had used his blood again as a basis and so the child was her creator's first son and second child, her creator's second incarnate; her own brother, her uncle, her son. He wrote that she was to raise the child to one day lead the Twelfth Division. Instructions to further raise the child would be delivered next month.<br>His last words of the letter was that, "_I'm giving you the son that you could not ever hope to bear. Take care of him and raise him well. I believe I can trust you with that at the very least. Don't fail me_."

And then what?  
>History, it was.<p>

The following year, she had worked hard to pass the Captain Proficiency Test and Akon returned her post to her as the leading head of the SDRI and the Captain of the Twelfth. They were both left to and intended for her rather than Akon so it would make sense that she lead instead of him.

She steadied being a captain and a mother.

Once the child, _Mayuri_ she named for his father, had developed well enough to do more than basic functions, to be able to learn and observe the work that his father had lived for, she introduced him as her son first before she introduced him as the son of her father. She took great pride in his swift growth of mind and body.  
>For the first few years before she placed him in the academy, he had stayed hidden behind her white haori, clinging to her and hiding away from prying eyes. One day he would be timidly waiting for her as she worked, the following week he would already be taking command over the subordinates who had been overlooked because of their exceptionally low ranks that the senior scientists had not cared to notice. He learned from the very beginning how to take control and employ it.<br>Though she had not enjoyed it, she was obligated to place him in the Academy before she could bring him into the Gotei 13. He had completed the entire curriculum and graduated three years upon entering.  
>When he gained his zanpakuto and attained shikai, she more than happily promoted him to be her lieutenant. Then came his modifications at his own insistence.<p>

More years passed too quickly for her to recount and now it was almost Mayuri's turn to do what his father had intended for him.  
>It was a very strange turn that her life had gotten. The man she thought who would never die did. The role she would never expect to become hers was coveted by her. The son she thought she would never have was with her.<p>

Her thoughts were disturbed when she heard the familiar title. "Taicho!"

Nemu turned her attentions to Mayuri. The full moon did a wonderful job of illuminating everything below it. She wondered if he had looked into a mirror before he had gotten up because his hair was unusually neat, brushed out of his face, and his paints still covered him thinly despite how vigorous they had been with each other. He had slipped on his hiyoku. She caught dew upon him, the robe clung to his thin frame damply.  
>She inched herself closer to the window where he was leaning out of.<p>

"Taicho! What are you doing out there! Get in here! That's dangerous! If you think I'm going to heal you if you fall off the roof at this late hour, you must be delusional!" He hissed.  
>Although his voice was getting harsher, he held his arms out for her, his knee already on the ledge of the window. She was careful to enter into his arms swiftly so that they would both not fall out into the streets below.<p>

As she crawled into his arms, she felt his fingers grip into her and she was swept off her feet as he pulled her into the room. He continued holding her close to his body, she confronted the fact that Mayuri had surpassed her in height, she could tuck her head beneath his nose. There was the familiar smell of ice and chemicals. He was so very warm, very warm indeed that she wanted keep his skin close to hers at all the time.

In the dark of the room, their lips sought each others'; while she kept her hands clenched into his hiyoku, his were busy fondling her rear. She moaned into his mouth. At this, she felt him push her against the wall of the room. He grunted into her neck, his hands seeking out her naked breasts then.

"Mayuri-sama!" she gasped.

And she was no longer the captain of the Twelfth Division, an aged woman; but she was a girl again at his touch, young and nubile.

She screamed his name, "Mayuri-sama!" as he rammed himself inside her.

Both of them hot and impassioned, tangled into each other and cloth.

She eagerly let loose affections that she had kept from him and he greedily gorged himself on it.

* * *

><p><strong>According to the Bleach wiki, it takes 6 years to complete the shinigami academy and those who finish earlier are considered prodigies. I'm not saying that Mayuri is some prodigy shinigami, I'm just saying that besides the fact he's smart, he's also ambitious and a quick learner like his father and the ccircumstances that he develops very quickly as opposed to the fact that both mental and physical aging are rather slowed down for shinigami; this Mayuri would just breeze through everything. <strong>

**Also, the reason why he's... so energetic... well, it's because he's young. He's young and he's finally gotten the woman of his dreams, so he's not going to waste any opportunity now. His father was always passionate when he was extremely tired; and he was old, so that would make sense how he would be able to keep up with one go. But this Mayuri is young, he's not exactly tired yet, so I thought it would make sense for him to be able to keep going...**  
><strong>Also, we have just witnessed his deflowerment!<strong>

**To clarify something too. Nemu kept him first with her in the Gotei 13 until it came to the attentions of some of the shinigami captains and Council 46 that despite the fact that he was growing rather quickly, he should still be placed in the academy as she was. Yes, Nemu was also in the academy. he graduated quicker than they could've thought and so Nemu was glad to take him back into the Gotei 13. **

**There's sort of an afterthought from Mayuri's view after this chapter, then there's the ending chapter, and then there's a "Special Features" chapter with stuff that I had to edit out of this fic because it didn't match the flow. Wow, we're almost done!**

**So... what did you think?**


	7. Twisted

**Ngoc Chau does not own Bleach**

**Okay, so this chapter takes place about two weeks from the last chapter. It's Mayuri's thoughts now upon the turn his relationship with his captian has taken and upon what comes next. **

**Also, I have a new prompt up. Check that out. It's called Father. **

**Next chapter is the end, and the chapter after that is a sort of "Special features" with 'deleted' passages that didn't exactly fit into the flow of the fanfic, but I really wanted to display them to let Reader get more of an understanding with the characters and their relationships to each other; and alternate passages that could've been but I decided to use something else. Know what could've been.**

* * *

><p>"Do you have an appointment today waiting for you after work. Fukutaicho?" Megane asked him.<p>

He looked down at the pigtailed girl with chains in her hair. He closed up his portfolio and tucked away his pen in his sleeves. "Why do you ask?" he questioned her.

She set down the tray of beakers and test tubes she had been carrying and picked up a different set to pass by him to get to another station, "You've been looking at the clock for the past hour."

"I always look at the clock." he replied, walking alongside her as he delivered what paperwork he needed completed by certain shinigami by the end of the day.

"In the last hour, you've looked at the clock 30 times." she pointed out.

Had it been thirty times? He faltered, he had never been so eager for the day to be done to get home. Before Work was his mistress and his lover, a thing of his devotion. However, since the other night…. He felt his stomach turn flops as he recalled that night, the night when he finally had her in his arms and took her over and over again until the two of them could barely walk without stumbling a step.  
>Throughout the days afterward, he could not get the look of his captain's flushed face, calling out his name, out of his head. There were times he was close to bursting at the though of it. He could feel his face flushing as he recalled the memory.<p>

Someone suddenly bumped into him. He managed to stay onto his feet, was not so lucky for said shinigami who landed on his rear on the floor. Other scientists whose feet were not so quick as their brains stumbled over the legs of the fallen shinigami. Files and a beaker went flying overhead.

Quick-thinking, Mayuri jumped and reached back to catch the beaker, simultaneously holding out his other hand to collect the falling papers.

Kuma had made his way over and taken the beaker, muttering to himself.

The shinigami on the floor looked up, "Wow." He scrambled to his feet and bowed to Mayuri, "Good afternoon, Kurotsuchi-fukutaicho."

He nodded his head in response, "What are you here for?" Though he soon realized the answer as his eyes caught sight of Unohana.

She stepped forward, placing a hand on the shoulder of her shinigami subordinate, "Hello, Kurotsuchi-fukutaicho."

He nodded his head to her, "Unohana-taicho."

She smiled even brighter.

"Are you looking for the captain." he asked her.

She replied that she was and he offered to escort her personally to the captain.

Mayuri observed that as he walked the fourth captain to his captain he was getting strange looks from everyone he passed by. And yet he had not enough fire in his belly to yell at them. Luckily, a simple furrowing of his brow put them back into their place to pretend to at least be working instead of watching him and the fourth captain.

"Are you alright?" Unohana asked him.

He wondered why everyone had been asking him that question lately. "I'm fine." he answered as civil as he could.

"Could it already be spring for you, fukutaicho?" she asked teasingly, "Have you fallen in love with someone?"

He scoffed.

As though she knew something about him, she continued asking a great sort of things. Then finally, "Is she as pretty as she is young?" when they were completely alone in the elevators.

He didn't understand why he should answer the way he did, but he felt such a rush in answering and seeing the glimmer in Unohana's eyes. "She's older than I am."

Unohana did not ask any more questions after that.

They arrived in the lab where his captain was.

In the circle of shinigami scientists and researchers were the top three: his captain, Akon, and Kuma. The captain turned to him first. She greeted him by his rank which he returned.

Akon asked him if he had checked on Subject 256 yet.

Mayuri replied that he already had, that the subject's restraints were now in effect to prevent him from tearing off the growing skin.

As Akon and Kuma left, their entourages following after, he took his spot on one side of the captain. He could hardly pay attention to what Unohana was discussing with his captain.  
>He could only see his captain.<br>It was not that he wanted everyone to know that he had just lost his virginity to his captain or that he could fall in love like any other shinigami - it was just not professional, especially for his image. But he was annoyed that his captain behaved with greater ease than how he was feeling, as though their tryst was the usual thing for them. Well, she certainly had treated so that night. He knew that he should've admired and be thankful for how his captain behaved in the work place, but he wished that she should at least give herself away in some indication that she had just had sex at the very least! It seemed almost unfair because they did not have much time with each other after that night for it seemed that the work load grew exponentially after their coupling and late nights were the product. By the time they got through the work, tomorrow would already be upon them and they were forced for another late night, submerged in work.  
>In fact, for the past few nights, the more dedicated scientists stayed behind to work and so hardly any spare time was afforded.<p>

Damn it! He thought. He was thinking like a woman now. Perhaps his libido had best been left alone.

* * *

><p>Work was tedious and longer. It is hardly needed to retell what work consisted of. If Reader so wishes to hear, drop a review for it and Writer may send a description of a work day worth twenty four hours. Until then, continue with the story.<p>

* * *

><p>"You're still here?" Akon asked as he passed by Mayuri's office.<p>

Mayuri looked up from the scattered papers before him. He ran his hand through his blue hair. "You're already going?" he asked in return.

"It's been a while since I've been home and I have to water the plants." Akon answered as he leaned against the doorway.

He and Akon were on tolerable terms, bordering friendly-wise, but their first meeting was anything but well impressionable. It was a wonder that the two men were not at each others' throats, he had often heard it said. Well, he had no reason really to attack the man.  
>Akon pulled out a small white box from his sleeves and placed a thin white cigarette between his lips. Mayuri had always looked down upon the habit, though he did not really complain about it since the man was a brilliant and useful scientist and only smoked when he was done with work.<p>

Mayuri continued his writing, not bothering to look at Akon anymore. "Where's the captain?" he asked passively.

"I think she's closing up the labs." he answered.

Mayuri stopped his writing and stacked his paperwork into his portfolio. "I'm going to see her." he did not need to explain himself further. He stood up and walked steadily to the doorway where Akon was still smoking away. Move, he could've said but kept it in his mouth. Akon backed away for him. He did not take heed whether or not Akon was watching him with studious eyes, but all he wanted now was to see his Captain.

He did not go to the labs because he knew that she was not there anymore.

An instinct in him told him that she was in her office already. And he was proven right that as he entered through her doors, she was at her desk continuously working.

He wondered if it was because she had been raised that way or if she was always expecting someone, that even her posture in work seemed well-aware and posed. She subtly stopped her writing and looked up at him. "Mayuri-sama."

He nodded his head and closed the door behind him, "Taicho."

He scanned his eyes over her. What to do now? How, was a better question. He walked to her, behind her chair. Bending forward, he observed what work she had been writing. No work at all, it appeared to be a journal. He arched a brow. He turned his face towards her, the tip of his nose, brushing by her cheekbone. "And what are you writing exactly, Taicho?"  
>He caught the way she shivered. And he would've backed away if not for the sight of her blushing too.<p>

"I'm writing about my days, about my thoughts. Ise-fukutaicho suggested it to me years ago as a past-time." she informed him.

"Am I in there?" he asked curiously.

The blush grew redder. She pushed the journal to him and he took it in his hands to read, leaving his own portfolio on her desk. His eyes widened at her writing. The entire thing was much like a textbook with hardly any emotion involved save for segments when she mentioned people. Many of them were people he knew, some he did not know and wondered how his captain should remember any shinigami who was below tenth rank. He caught his name, and he was not so much interested in reading that because he often knew what she was thinking for she rarely withheld her thoughts from him. But he was interested to know her thoughts upon that night. His eyes widened as he turned to that certain page.  
>My! He thought. She certainly has a memory for things like that.<p>

"So…" he queried and he could not help but laugh as he spoke, "I make you feel like a young girl again whenever I touch you?"

She nodded her head, looking utterly flustered, "Yes, you do, Mayuri-sama."

"And my tongue is absolutely divine whenever I lick and suck on your cunt?" he asked with another laugh.

There was surprise from her and he confessed himself, "I just added in that part to see if you remember what you write in there." He set the journal open-page down on the desk and leaned close into her, caging her to make sure she would not get away. "But we could always see if my tongue," he felt his mouth water and the blood from his head pool south at the thought of it, "can be just that."

She did not say anything, but look him directly in the eye.

He took her silence as consent. He kneeled down and undid the obi of her shihakusho. He pulled it off swiftly and let it fall to the floor. He heard her breathe and he was reminded of a frightened animal. He looked up at her through his lashes and smiled. She returned it and he proceeded with what he was planning. He pulled her hakama off and as he let it fall into a crumpled bunch on the floor, he felt the urge to also remove the white captain haori. She moved to help him. He loosened more of her clothes until they were barely staying on her shoulders and her torso was bared to him. He slid her panties slowly off of her thighs.

Separating her knees apart, he could already smell the heat of her sex; being reminded of dogs in heat and late nights. His face cautiously came close and he experimented first by licking the lips. She cried out and feeling encouraged, he used his tongue to adroitly separate the lips enough for his mouth to envelop the little mound inside. He sucked upon it like a little juicy berry and gripped her legs to make sure that she did not thrash around. She did not taste as off-putting as he would've imagined, but cleaner in a sense.  
>Her body moved forward, arching and there were sweet sighs escaping her lips in burning time. He continued his stimulation on her as she panted over and over again, "Oh! Oh! Oh!" His tongue flicked at it, making happy below. He moved up and felt masculine pride to see her trying to keep a hold of him, not willing to let him go.<p>

He picked her up from her chair and carried her over to a nearby sofa that she kept in her office for whenever company came in to see her.

He set her on the edge and continued worshipping her body on his knees, his tongue wanting to cover ever inch of her skin. It was until he felt a sharp pain on his shoulder that he realized that he had been so distracted by her breasts and the vase-like curve of her stomach that she had stripped off most of his clothes off of his shoulders already. He kissed her neck, the spot between the hem of her red choker and the collarbone. Her hands clawed downwards of him and he found the pain to be quite pleasurable instead of uncomfortable. She gripped something below that was both sharp to his senses and aching for more of her touch. She gave a groan as though empathetic to what he was feeling.

The hakama was gone from his hips and kicked away from his form. He climbed onto the sofa, wanting her, desiring her. She hooked a shapely leg around his hip and rose to meet him as he slipped into her. He held her close at the warmth of her, how it spread throughout all of him. He thrust-ed wildly into her, everything being let loose. She gasped his name close to his ears(well, where they were covered by his ear-cones.), "Mayuri-sama! Mayuri-sama! Oh! Oh! Oh my god! Mayuri!…"

Their bodies twisted together, tangling into one another. Her hair was suddenly loose, cascading down her shoulders, for he had pulled at her hair and set the tresses free. Before he knew it, it was he on his back on the sofa and she atop of him. His head was supported by the armrest, she gripped the back of the sofa for balance. His hands touched her, interlocking with her free hand. She moved atop him and he loved the expressions that passed over her visage with every push of her pelvis into him, with every withdrawal that her face tilted downwards and the hair tickled his chest. He wished to God that he could tell her how beautiful she was, compare her to the greatest sights of the world: the gardens of Babylon, tower of Nanjing, Aurora… But the words were stuck in his throat and even by greatest will, could he not force them out.

"N-Nemu…" he grunted as she did something different impaling upon him.

She begged him to say it again.

He complied.

They moved with such aggression that the springs in the sofa complained loudly.

They reached an end together, to which she fell atop him, his face buried between her neck and her chest. She adjusted her position so that they were head-to-head. They kissed like lovers - he supposed - did. She breathed as though satisfied with another one of his performances. He watched her as she closed her eyes, the green being covered by fluttering lids, and then he allowed himself to follow her into sleep. It was late after all and work had been more than plentiful.

He was awoken later by her stirring and a sense that the bowl of rice and curry he had had earlier had not been enough. He squinted his eyes to the clock in the corner and knew then that they had only allowed themselves rest for an hour. They still had a few more hours before they would have to be up for work.

He pretended to still be asleep, wanting to know what she would do next. That other night, she had left him to sit on the roof. She moved to get off the couch, but the hold of his arms around her stopped her.

She gasped almost playfully, "Mayuri-sama!"

He pulled her back to his body and rubbed her breasts, nuzzling his nose into her warm neck. She groaned and arched into him, his hands went lower down her torso.

She reminded him, her words stretched occasionally with breaths and moans of pleasure. "Mayuri-sama. You must be hungry. You had not had your supper, instead you…" her voice trailed off as he rolled the little gem below in his fingertips. She seemed to suddenly find her words, "You need to eat something!"

He turned her over to face him and kissed her full on the lips. "I'm not hungry for food."

Her arms wrapped around his neck as he positioned himself over her. A thought sprang to him that he should think of getting a larger couch installed in one of their offices. Her chest moulded against his body and he was thankful for her soft fleshy curves. She sighed as his lips moved to her chin, the arc of her neck and the hollow of her collarbone.

"Please." she begged him, "It's been a long day. Do not overexert yourself."

He stopped his kissing and rolled onto his side, his arm propping his head up. "When will you stop underestimating me?"

She looked worried and moved to be closer to him. She smoothed his hair and brushed it out of his face, "Forgive me, Mayuri-sama." She gently kissed him on the lips and he felt himself growing less upset. "Your father, he did not ever -"

He pushed her back on the sofa and silenced her. "I'm not my father."

She nodded and her eyes cast out away from him.

He made her face him, "I'm not my father."

She exhaled, "Yes. I know."

He knew that she was conflicted. No matter how many times years earlier he could make her smile or make her happy with what he could do, he knew that she was always thinking of that other. Her diary provided a window for that, how she could love two people who were supposed to be the same.  
>He would never settle as being that man's replacement, that was what everybody already expected; for her, he wanted to outshine him.<p>

Her hand caressed the side of his face. His captain's tears was something he had seldom seen, even when he was a little child. But whenever he did see them, he would never know what to do. What did that man do whenever she cried? Order her to stop? Beat her so that she would stop? Or was it only around that man did she not cry? The tears slid down her cheek, but her face betrayed no other expression.

He licked the tears away, not wanting to see them. "Taicho." he murmured.

She breathed a huffy breath, he sensed the torment in her. "Did you know that I was your father's eighth?" She turned over onto her stomach and undid the red choker she always wore. Never, even in the bath did he ever see her without it. She undid it and left it upon the armrest of the couch; on the back of her neck was a tattoo that marked her as 'Experiment 8'. She did not continue more.

He kissed the mark on her neck and told her that to him, she was his first and only.

"Not only." she said.

He did not understand. He was distracted when he pushed her rear against him and he was tempted for more.

"You are my dearest to me most now. No one can ever change my heart for you. I have done…" she said oh-so-seductively. He gripped her hips and grazed his teeth on the soft skin of her shoulder. "I have done what I must for you. Very soon, you won't need me." His hand moved to her rear, pushing against the meat there.

The tip of his tongue flicked the shell of her ear as he spoke. "Have I ever said anything about needing you?" Her heels touched the back of his knees. "I want you, Taicho."

He heard her cry out as he entered her from behind. He moved inside her and his view was blinded by her unblemished skin. His white painted hands gripped her silky hips, steadying her.  
><em>So tight! Faster! Closer! Do you really want me? I want you. Like air, like water. Move higher. Lean back. Are you almost there? Already so tired? No, no, no! Yes! More! So soft, so warm and soft. Can you… Touch me here? Raise it higher… Oh, not so hard! Ah! I can't breathe! Skin's too tight! Does it feel good? Don't stop! Here! Here! Right there! Yes, just like that! Hold it there! Please! Ah!<em>

He felt her shake and she cried out his name. His cheek was flattened against the blade of her shoulder, as his body gave way to exhaustion. She whispered his name, "Mayuri."

His lips brushed by the spot on her back. "Taicho."

"I… I love you." she said as though she was some shy girl, her voice and words muffled as she moved her face into the mattress. He had never heard her say that to him before, not even in his vague days as his little child.

His fingers coaxed her face out of its hiding place. He saw that she was blushing redder than he ever saw. "It's not love." She tried to hide her face again but he would not let her. Sexual desire, passion, affection, fondness... They were not limited to those. She was as bound to him as he was to her "This is not love, hardly love, barely love, can't be love." he concluded.

She nodded her head, a little smile on her lips - he knew that she understood him - and he heard her sobbing.

"What are you crying about now, Taicho?" he asked as tenderly as he could. But he knew it himself that he could not muster up that tone in his voice, though he did feel it sincerely.

"I'm sorry. I am very prone to tears nowadays. I must be getting decrepit." He allowed her a few seconds of sobbing before he wiped her tears away. "I am so glad to be by your side, Mayuri-sama."

He pressed his lips to her back, the crook of her neck. "We have all the time in the world."

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><p><strong>So... what did you think?<strong>

**I know it's moving a little fast, but there's like... one more chapter left to go.**


	8. Not Yet The End

**Ngoc Chau does not own Bleach**

**There is still one more chapter after this! There is still one more chapter after this! I repeat: there is still one more chapter after!**

**This fanfic is not completed. This fanfic is not complete. This fanfic is not complete!**

**To note, almost fifty years have passed or so since the last chapter.**

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><p>It was as though his senses had become numb.<p>

When she left, the light of the world left as well. Mayuri sat down while all others stood, his captain's will was being read out loud. He did not want to think of her death for there was nothing he could do now; her reishi was now part of the Soul Society and her soul had left their plane. But he was thankful at least that her death was not because she wanted to protect him from Hollows.  
>She had died because of some strange misfortune, not because of him. Though the thought of her gone from him ate him alive, he was relieved at least that it was not his fault that she had died.<br>His thoughts of his captain's death disappeared from his mind as he heard his name.

Everything was to be left to him as she had discussed with him when she was still with them; he was to be the Captain of the Twelfth and the SDRI with nothing inaccessible to him. Not only was his 'father's' possessions going to him, but his captain's. Although sympathetic for his loss, he received some congratulations for the sudden increase of fortune and materials.  
>The reading went by very quickly, a new order of ranks was given out and rather miscellaneous last wishes. It was all old news to him. He knew what would be bequeathed to him, but he had never imagined that it would come so soon. He thought he would be two hundred then - five hundred even, not a youthful hundred.<p>

As everyone was exiting, all of them telling him that his captain would be sorely missed and that she was very remarkable, the will reader approached him with a letter. "Your captain left this to you. If it's anything like I remember…" his voice trailed off, but Mayuri did not feel like questioning him though the curiosity did poke at him.

He was left alone in the receiving room of the SDRI. The sounds of tearing paper and unfolded corners echoed in the room, or perhaps it was attuned more acutely to his ears. The letter began: "_I am so sorry to have failed you."_  
>He closed his eyes for a second, and found his head to be spinning. He continued reading the letter, short that it was. It described how proud she was of him, how sad she was to know that she could not live out her existence accordingly with him. He did not like to read much of it because what compliments she gave him now was meaningless and he did not like to be reminded even more of de-th. The letter took a different turn. <em>"There is something I have left for you that I would like for you to take under your wing. It is your decision and I do not want you to be inconvenienced. There is a lab beneath my office on level 7-E. Your voice is all that is needed to open the door to the lab."<em> There were more instructions to find the lab in her office and he thought it tedious.  
>The letter ended with a cryptic message of: <em>"Please find me."<em>

He was interested and he wanted to know what else his captain had left him. Well, they already called him heartless; but he mourned her the way he felt that he should mourn her. She was his captain, his mother, his sister, his other self… How he felt for her and how he coped with her death was his own business.

Mayuri found the lab almost instantly that night and it was better maintained than he had expected. Not a single speck of dust. He pondered how many hours his captain had spent in the hidden room when he was always by her side till the very end. There was a sole metal slab where the subject would've been strapped to. All the walls were lined with monitors and computers. A shelf of tools and other ornaments meant for their work rested in some far off corner. His golden eyes caught a glimpse of illumination at the front of the lab. At the very front of the room was a series of cylindrical tanks, all of them appeared to be meant to house creatures of great size, particularly human size. But not all of them were empty.

He approached it and if he did not have such excellent control over himself, he would've gasped in surprise. He recognized the sleeping face in the tank to be his captain's, but it was not his captain that he was looking at. He knew it for certain. Was this what his captain had left to him? He knew his own origins and he could only laugh at the parallel fates that Kurotsuchi spawns were born for.  
>But what would he do? He knew it himself that he did not yet look old and he was in the prime of his life, still youthful compared to other shinigami. Would he take her home and raise her as his captain had raised him? It was almost inexplicable that he should already feel drawn to the being in the tank and should already want her. He did not even know what he was thinking, but before he could already process what was going on through his head, what decisions he was making; he had already began draining the tank that housed the comatose being.<p>

He was not so unfamiliar to a female's body that he should faint from shyness at the sight of them, but there was something about this girl's body that attracted his eyes to constantly look her over. He was not abashed by the realization, but he knew what it might look like to other eyes. It was not that he cared about opinions, it was that he was in no mood to put up with any more talk about him and he did not want anyone else to see this girl, this copy of his captain, without clothing. As he removed her from the tank that had housed her, he wrapped her up in his white lab coat and carried her towards his quarters. He was very aware of how light she was that he had no trouble carrying her and how thin she felt. The girl hardly felt suitable to be fighting Hollows.  
>She did not even stir in his arms as he carried her away.<p>

Unlike other divisions, including the Eleventh's, the Twelfth's first and second seats always shared quarters together. He was not so sure whether he should stay in his own quarters or advance into the Captain's quarters. He was comfortable with his lodging and there was not much difference to the rooms save for alternating windows. He dressed her unconscious form in one of his clothes that had fit him when he was much younger. He left the girl asleep in his bed, feeling that it was too soon to install her into his captain's room, to look over journals that his captain had left to him.

He was not at all interested to read about what she had thought of certain people or even what she had thought about him. He looked to her journals for reference as he was now the charge of a young child as his captain was for him. Like anybody else, he did not recall his 'childhood' so easily and always depended on records and files to know what had transpired in and out of that hazy phase of his life. He recalled being familiar with the Gotei 13 before he was in the Academy and only upon graduating was he returned to a place he knew as his first memories. He wanted to know how long it had taken him to grow out of his 'stupid' phase from emerging out of the tank to what he liked to think of as his 'growing' phase. It was not that he wasn't diligent, but he did not feel that he had any fatherly instincts in him. Even now, he was thinking of the girl in his room as a chore. Would he have to raise her himself? Could he possibly give her to another and have them raise her in his stead until she came of a good proper age where she could be useful to him?  
>He did not want to rid himself of her for good for in her, he saw his captain. Had <em>she<em> felt the same as he was now? Suddenly being burdened with a child? But then again, she wanted him, wanted a child of that man's.  
>He had not even considered the possibility of children, so used he was to monopolizing his captain's attentions when he wanted it.<p>

He flipped through the meagre journals. They recounted a sort of depression that his captain had fallen into since the loss of that man and Mayuri could only point out that he was handling his grief better than she had; he was not so desperate for suicide. She had been ecstatic when she received him, found him. She noted that he was soon ready and willing to learn one month since she had found him. He hoped that the same interval of time would apply to the girl in his room.  
>There enclosed in the pages were more letters penned by that same man, indicated by the name that was signed at the end of the papers, and they were instructions how to care for him. Would he receive letters to care for the girl or would she leave it up to him? It was one thing if he was expected to raise a son, but how would a man know to raise a daughter?<br>A voice pointed out that the Eleventh Division Captain had managed to do so.  
>But a secondary voice pointed out how battle-crazy she was.<br>Yes, that was not a good example. He supposed he would have to look further back, research and read about how that man had raised his captain and then apply it to the girl.

He thought this all to be very petty. He felt that he was not inclined to teach another being the basics and facts of life. It would be so much easier if his captain was still with him! There came a knock at the door, he got up to answer. He opened the door and was ready to slam it in Unohana's face when he saw her. "What are you doing here?" he asked her.

She did not smile her usual smile but she took a step closer, not wanting him to close the door so soon. "They asked me to see you about the Captain Proficiency Test. It is well known that you already know how to use your Bankai, but a test is still in order, particularly since your captain has named you her successor."

"Thank you." he told her, "I'll see to it tomorrow."

"Yes, come by the first division barracks tomorrow to see the Soutaicho and he and I and another captain will be there for the test."

He thanked her again and was about to close the door when she stopped him and opened it a little bit wider. "I wanted to see you. I heard that you were still sad about your captain and I hoped that I could cheer you up."

He noticed that she was not wearing her captain's haori or her shihakusho but opted to wear a light violet kosode. Her hair was left untangled. She was dressed to allure, he realized. "My captain has just died. I would like to be left alone right now."

He tried to close the door but her strength prevented him. "That did not stop you last night." she reminded him.

He gave a huff, told her that it was getting late and she wasn't thinking straight. A captain's death was always something that distracted everybody, made them do things they would not do if they were lucid. Goodnight.

She stepped back and he closed the door, locked the latch for proper measure though he knew that locked doors could never stop anybody in this place. He returned to his reading to know what else could be done about the sleeping girl. A little while, the sound of pattering footsteps pulled him out of his reading and he looked up.

The girl was awake, her green eyes focused on him. It would be a cliché to say that he saw the ghost of his captain in her, and he didn't. He saw what his captain was not: child-like, naïve, ingénue. But perhaps with time and lessons, with him as her teacher; the possibilities were vast… Strange that he did not spend so much time looking at her when he first saw her floating in the tank in the labs, he was far too distracted by the fact that fate likes to play tricks on him.

He was given the chance to closer inspect and observe her. He was uncomfortable at looking at someone _different_ who looked the _same_. But she was not unappealing to the eyes and found her to be delightful to look at: feeling both comforted at the familiarity of her gaze and disturbed at the resemblance. Her hair was attractively long, and from what he could see, it reached beyond her waist. It was cut very straight and reminded him of wood carvings of ancient Japanese princesses: the straight fringe of the bangs over the forehead, the locks that framed the face. He was quite tempted to run his fingers through her tresses. Her face looked young, unlike his captain's. But of course she was young. And her skin was the same blinding white as his captain's had been. He wondered if he were to touch her, would she feel just like her.

"What is it?" he asked her.

She looked at him and then her green eyes looked elsewhere and down at her bare feet. He heard a distinct growl from her and burst out laughing.

"Oh! You're hungry? Fine." He got up and walked to the kitchen, she followed closely behind him. She grabbed the sleeve of his shihakusho and he did not push her away. He observed that she was older than he had been when he was 'born', for she almost reached him chest level at standing height.

She stood nervously in his white hiyoku in a corner of the kitchen as he pulled out leftovers from the other night from the fridge. He served it to her cold, wanting her to eat as quickly as possible so that he could get back to his reading on how to take care of her. As he set the food out for her, she only stared at it. He was about to remark on the level of her intelligence when he recalled how stupid he had been too. With exasperation, he told her to sit and he spoon fed her himself. What was it about the presence of a ward that as he fed her like she was a baby, he found himself feeling sorry for her and wanting to take care of her. He had the sudden thought that without him around, she would not be able to survive. And another thought came whether she had his captain's abilities and properties…. He waved the thought away, she was only a child after all. There was no need to think of dirty thoughts yet.

Once she was fed, he asked her if she needed something else. She looked at him blankly. Mayuri breathed out loud. He didn't have to do this, but he did not want to wake up soaked because the girl could not control her bladder throughout the course of the night. Sorry though he was for her, he hoped that he would not have to necessarily baby her for much longer than a month. After a month, he would expect her to be on her own.

He took her to the bathroom and made sure she used its facilities. He washed her face and her hands afterwards and led her back to his rooms.

He felt no brashness to sharing a bed with her. It would be chaste after all. She was hesitant to get under the same covers with him until he pointed out that he was not going to sleep on the floor and unless she preferred wood to him, then be his guest. She chose the latter and slid in close by him. He turned to face opposite her and moved to the edge of the bed. The night air was quiet and peaceful. He felt as though he was ready to wake up from a bad dream he had no desire for. The her warm breath on the back of his neck incited shivers in him and he turned around, ready to tell her to stop breathing like that. But the sight of her wet eyes melted him. He felt alone, but he knew it was not from him he was feeling it. He saw himself through her eyes and felt all the more sorry for her. Certainly not capitulating to girlish moods but not being cruel, he allowed her to rest her head beneath his neck. Her arms wrapped around his neck and they were so close that he could feel the pounding of her heart against his chest and hear the rush in her ears. Her hair was soft and silky.  
>And he felt that to be the right thing to do for the wetness on her cheeks dried quickly.<p>

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><p>The next morning as he woke up, he was greeted by the sounds of clattering pans.<p>

When he got up, he realized that he had not changed, nor washed, nor even removed the small cones from his ears before going to sleep. The habit was no so particularly bad, but it was always a hassle for him to remove his paints and reapply them after sleep. He would reapply his paints and freshen himself up after he investigated the noise. He straightened out his dishevelled shihakusho and grabbed a new lab coat from his closet.

Upon reaching the source of the noise which was in the kitchen, he was surprised to see the girl at the stove. He did not want to seem to eager in approaching her and so came slowly behind her. She was still wearing his hiyoku. He supposed that he would have to find her some clothes later today. He watched her work by herself at the kitchen counter and the stove. Finally when she felt satisfied with her work, she placed all of what she needed onto a tray and presented it to him modestly.  
>As she bowed her head forward, her long black hair fell over her shoulder. His attention was diverted to the pooling locks in front of her.<p>

"Tea, sir." she said to him. Her voice was delightful to the ears, reminiscent of the sound of a flute and there was a childish lisp to her words. He found it quite endearing and suiting with such an innocent expression on her face. He was surprised that she could already make tea. He felt jealous that while he had been stupid for a month, it had only been a day and she was already speaking and making tea. She poured him a cup from the pot and held it out to him. He eyed it cautiously and told her to drink it first. She did just that. He waited a few minutes, wanting to see any sort of reaction from her. There was none yet he still ordered her to take another sip. She did so. A few more times later until the cup was empty, he had her pour him another cup and drank the tea she made. It was very bland, almost like hot water albeit he saw plentiful of tea leaves at the bottom of his cup. Well, he could not ask for everything right away, he knew that.

"How do you know how to make tea?" he started.

She seemed to struggle with her answer because after a long period of time, she finally spat out one word, "Because."

"So you just know how to make tea?"

"Yes, sir." she answered. And he imagined that she was still too 'young' to say anything more than two words.

He set the cup down and pushed it away from him, and asked her for her name.

She shook her head, "No name."

He raised a non-existent brow. "Do you want a name?"

She nodded her head, "Yes, sir."

He moved close to her, placing his hand firmly on the top of her head. "Your name is Kurotsuchi Nemu. I'm giving you my name: Kurotsuchi Mayuri."

She nodded her head, "Yes, sir."

He removed his hand. "Can you clean up?"

She nodded her head eagerly, keeping her eyes glued to the ground, "Yes, sir."

He left to take a quick shower and reapply his paint before work. Then when he returned, he was surprised to find that she had indeed cleaned up well and was standing obediently in the center of the room for him. Nemu, as he thought of her now, seemed smart. Even if she didn't make good tea, he thought she seemed able-minded enough to do little things. It might be a bad choice, but it appeared better than leaving her here and chancing her burning the whole place down. He knew the labs first before he knew the Seireitei. Why not introduce it early to her too? Very well, he would bring her with him to keep a close eye on her. He told her to wait for him as he went to get her some clothes. He returned almost immediately with the shihakusho he had wore before entering the Academy, he hoped that it would fit her.

He handed it to her and told her to change into it. But she only stood meekly before him. One step at a time, he had to remind himself.  
>"You don't know how to change, do you?" he asked passively.<p>

She shook her head, "No, sir."

He rolled his eyes. "Fine. Take off the robe you're wearing now."

Without hesitation, Nemu loosened the garment off of her frame and peeled it off of her. "Yes, sir." Her physique was that of a young adolescent between the ages of twelve and fifteen, the breasts nothing more than tiny puffs and her hips' width hardly different from that of her chest. The arms long and toned that it did not look like a child's arms. Her legs were long and slender, the proportions making her look tall when she was not. Her breath grew heavier as he laid his hands upon her limbs, upon her form. Every inch of her was firm, not a hint of fat save for budding womanly endowments. He liked the feel of her skin under his palms.

"What's the matter? Am I hurting you?" he asked.

She shook her head, "No, sir."

"Then stop making that noise. I don't know what you're trying to do, but now's not the time for it."

He saw the inception of his touch, how her eyes followed wherever his hands went. Even when he was not touching her, she watched him closely. He smelt the warmth on her, it reminded him of his captain and he bit the inside of his cheek. He carefully dressed her, feeling unembarrassed at keeping his eyes on her body. Hardly a thing should excite him or entice him, yet he could not tear himself away until virtually every inch of her was covered by black. Mayuri imagined himself to be appear like a child molester and mentally laughed at the thought.

He went to brush her hair, making sure that there were no tangles in it. As he pulled at her hair with his fingers, he noticed something very distinct on the back of her neck. It was just like his captain's except hers read, _Experiment 9_. He recalled that his captain had often kept it covered by a ribbon, he would find her one later today, just not now.

As he tightened the wide white obi around her waist, he told her, "You're my daughter now, do you understand me? You are not to do anything that could embarrass me. If you do, you will be punished."

She nodded her head, "Yes, sir."

Though his face was distant and he was in quite a mood, he did not reject Nemu as she sought his hand. Her grip was hot and tight. His fingers wrapped around hers and he led her to the SDRI, his thoughts running miles on what he might teach her in the time to come to someday take up his mantle.

And he felt her potential, as both of them walked in the vanishing shadows of the two who had laid down their fates for them, and so on.

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><p><strong>It's still one chapter away from being finished! One more chapter!<strong>

**Now both of them are clones! **

**So... Mayuri looks to be in his late twenties or early thirties. Nemu looks to be... yeah... between twelve and fifteen. Playing to the fetishes now!**

**Okay, the reason why Nemu is already so advanced is because the Nemu before programmed her to be that way. That her brain flows would be faster than others and plus, scientists seem to be the sort to always make improvements instead of always sticking with old designs. They always see to improve. Also, Nemu knew that she would someday die like her creator did and wanted that even after her death, Mayuri would not be inconvenienced by anything and that she would still help him one way or another. So Nemu made another Nemu to be smart because she knew to not trobule Mayuri with teaching another person. So while... Nemu would be the mother, Mayuri would only be the provider...**

**So, what did you think**

**Next chapter is the last chapter! Stay tuned!**


	9. Electra

**Ngoc Chau does not own Bleach**

**So this is the last chapter and there's another one afterwards that's sort of stuff I deleted but I thought would be good to post up. There's an epilogue too. **

**Enjoy the conclusion!**

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><p>Nemu handed the clamps to her captain.<p>

He attached it to the tank and strode briskly to the control panels. She went to the electric box opposite. "Now flip the switch, Nemu!" he ordered as he worked with the dials on the control panel.

"Yes, Mayuri-sama." she answered, following out his commands.

The little blue marble in the tank grew spastic, as though something inside it was trying to burst through. The elastic-like skin of the marble inside the tank moved as sparks and lightening coursed through it in the water. Whatever was inside didn't want to be contained any longer. They watched as from the little red marble, a person expanded. First the form stretched and the webbings grew thinner as the bones were more definite. Springing like a flower, the person took form.  
>It was the captain of the third division, or more specifically his false body. It was in need of repairs and modifications after an encounter with a Hollow that could drain away spirit energy. They regarded the gigai, having it in its form from its easy-travel condensed stage. Something seeped into the tank from the bottom, a strange red substance that moved like smoke in the waters and it enveloped the gigai.<p>

Nemu waited patiently as Mayuri was putting in last touches to the repairs before leaving time to take care of the rest.

There was a sudden knocking at the door. Without having been asked, Nemu went to the door, asking him if he was ready to meet with a guest. Mayuri answered for her to wait a few more minutes then he would have her open the door. The knocking continued and it greatly annoyed her. She wondered if the person on the other side of the door realized that there were indeed persons in here and if they were not answering for the first five knocks, it was unlikely that they would answer if he continued knocking.  
>Nemu felt an instinct in her that Mayuri was finished and he was ready to receive the guest. She opened the door for him and he stepped out, obscuring her view of who it was that had been so patient to wait for them. He closed the door behind him.<p>

Their voices were loud and heated on the other side.

She recognized the voice to be that of the Eighth's captain. He was asking something about blood and files.

Mayuri was telling him that there was paperwork to be done for it, that he had no right to simply come and ask for it just because he was a captain. No exceptions. Besides, he was no doctor, that was what the Fourth was for.

Still, Kyoraku-taicho insisted that Unohana-taicho had sent him to Mayuri, that patient files were at the Fourth but shinigami files were stored in one of the houses of the Twelfth.

Nemu did not hear anything else, much of it was muffled, but to some extent Mayuri finally relented. "Fine. But you better keep your word about this."

"Yeah, yeah! I promise. You have my word. I know better than to anger Kurotsuchi Mayuri of the Twelfth and his bombs." his tone was rather condescending, Nemu thought.

"Just wait out here and don't touch anything else. I'm amazed you made it this far in."

Nemu retreated away from the door. Captain business was none of her business. She went back to look at the effect of repair on the gigai. There was something rather ironic in false beings creating and repairing false beings, she thought. She was already well aware of what the Kurotsuchi were currently, as well as her parentage and their heritage.

As Nemu scanned over the physique of the gigai, she had to laughed a tiny "Heh" as her eyes stopped at a certain male endowment. Penis envy, indeed! Her thoughts went back to something she had read upon the other day. Rumours were spreading again and this time she felt inclined to look into it a little more, going to the Seireitei libraries and researching as much upon the ideas of the rumour.  
>It was ridiculous: a girl detesting her mother because the girl lacked a penis to sexually possess her, and so desired her father for she saw an alternate parent that she would only then be capable of embodying her mother and gaining the endowment she wanted first of all. So would that mean that it was actually the mother that the daughter was desiring, not the father in fact? The father was just a body then, was that it? That if she could not have her mother for herself, she would become the closest thing she could to her mother? Do what the mother did and so possess her another way?<br>Nemu did not understand her feelings entirely. But she knew herself well. She did not look in the mirror and imagine the woman before her, nor did she steal glances at the photo of the woman that Mayuri kept hidden in his shihakusho. She never met the woman, knew that she was crafted by her hands, but she only recalled Mayuri as her first memory. The woman did not exist for her, Mayuri was both mother and father to her and he was all that she wanted.

Her thoughts were disturbed when she heard the door opening and in walked Kyoraku-taicho. He scratched the side of his face lazily, "Oh? This isn't the bathroom?' He smiled goofily. "Ah, Fukutaicho-chan! I didn't know you were in here."

Nemu took a step back.

"Hey, hey! Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. Your captain just left me out there and I'm bored and lonely. I just want someone to talk to." he explained himself.

Nemu saw no fault in that, but she balled up her fists just in case. He took a step around to look at the gigai in the healing tank and laughed. "Is it really to scale?" he chuckled.

Nemu nodded, "Yes, Kyoraku-taicho. Whenever the SDRI constructs its gigais, we always make sure that they are near perfect in appearances to whoever needs them."

He didn't add more to what she had said but was looking at her in the most peculiar way. She knew that it was not lust or want or longing in his eyes because she saw enough of those looks between others. The way he looked at her made her feel infantile, that he was humouring her in everything she did. He regarded her as though he had seen something new about her that he had not before and thought it adorable or thought it interesting. It was in no way licentious or illicit, and she had always felt as though he was very kind and observant, noticing things that would go unnoticed.

Mayuri's voice broke the spell of silent stares, "I thought I told you to wait outside and not touch anything."

She nearly jumped out of her skin, while Kyoraku-taicho calmly turned around to face Mayuri. "Well, you kept me waiting a long time and I was bored."

"That still didn't give you any reason to go into rooms that I didn't permit you to." Mayuri handed the file to Kyoraku-Taicho, muttering, "That amount better be wired into our funding."

"Yes! Don't worry so much! It's not like your funding is so little anyway!" he exclaimed. Taking the file, he tipped his straw hat to Nemu, "Nice talking to you, fukutaicho-chan."

Nemu bowed back in return, "It was nice seeing you, Kyoraku-taicho." Her braid slipped over her shoulder.

He turned to Mayuri and complimented, "Your little fukutaicho is just so cute! Reminds me of my Nanao-chan when she was young." She felt his eyes look over her, "And she's looking more and more like the old captain each day!" It was obvious that he was not intending to insult her, but to flatter her accordingly because everyone knew that the current Twelfth Captain had been very fond of his captain mother; yet his happy compliment did nothing for Nemu.

She cast her eyes to the ground as she felt Mayuri pat her head, "Yes. And that's why I keep her close." She felt her innards crumbling when he said that.

When Kyoraku-taicho left, Mayuri told her that they would be going back to their office, leaving the gigai to repair and later they would add in the modifications. She followed obediently behind him.

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><p>Their working day was mundane and ritual like to him, thus unneeded to go in depth over the staggering amount of paperwork that they had to overlook and the many subordinates that they had to manage. All throughout the day, Nemu blocked her own feelings and focused only on the tasks at hand, reacting as she ought to when interacting with different people. When she was not doing paperwork or doing the rounds throughout the labs to see how the real world was faring under the predator-like gazes of Hollows, she followed Mayuri closely as he worked or did his own rounds throughout the labs. As much of a diligent man he was and work-oriented, he did not so much enjoy paperwork as he did in lab work or calculations and so more than often put off his paperwork till the last moment: having to work tirelessly and enduringly throughout late nights.<p>

Some were already going home, calling it a night. Mayuri was usually always the last one to leave the labs and the first one to arrive. She bid them all goodnight. Then Nemu went around the buildings of the SDRI and some of the Twelfth that were being used for its scientific community, she made sure that everything was in order and that everything was locked up for the night. Muffled roars echoed behind closed doors. Nemu was not at all afraid by herself for she had known the labs since childhood and felt at peace in it. The labs were where she had taken first breath and seen first sight, she was born in the very place and so it should not be fearful for her to return to it even during the quiet of night. Now there was only the matter of her captain, it was getting very late after all.

She entered into one of his main offices, he was at his computer typing. Even as she entered he did not stop, and she greeted him first as they were apt to do. He returned the greeting with her name. It was very late. She told him the time and asked him if he needed anything else.

Tea, he requested of her.

She went away and came back later with a pot of tea and a tea cup on a tray, she set it down next to him.

Though he complained that she should start learning how to make better tea, he still drank it all.

She stood behind in some silence. There were times that he would yell and call her an idiot for just standing around when there was work to be done. Other times he liked her to be around as he continued working, either at his own time or because there was some deadline. The blue of the screen illuminated him.

It was probably fifteen minutes later or maybe an hour later. He finally spoke to her again, "Go get me the rest of the paperwork on the shelf over there."

She obeyed and brought him the paperwork.

He stopped his typing to take the papers from her, complaining, "How can they expect a captain to do so much writing? A captain has better things to do than write out how many Hollows he kills a month and how many underlings he loses. Or they could at least send this out electronically instead of condemning those of us to waste the midnight oil writing."  
>Mayuri got up and she knew that he was heading to a better-lit office. She wondered briefly if he was planning to spend the night at the office again, he had done so the past few nights. And the deadline for the paperwork was due in another two nights. She could not imagine him putting off so much that he would work unceasingly for almost a week. She felt sleep coming over her and knew it would surely be coming over him as well.<br>"Are you getting tired, Nemu-chan?" he asked first.

She shook her head, "No, Mayuri-sama."

He muttered as he wrote, "You're lying."

She tried to remedy her error, "I apologize, Mayuri-sama."

There was the scratching of pen to paper and then his response, "Go home if you want to. It's a bad idea for you to be staying up as much as I do and I've noticed how it's affected your work. A tired lieutenant is no better than a useless one."

She desperately wanted to remark upon the comparison of an over-exhausted captain, but bit her tongue to keep it to herself. "I would like to wait until you are done." she told him.

He was indifferent, "Very well. Wait if you want, I'm not stopping you."

She waited longer and felt the effects of sleep to be even stronger. She could not imagine what it was like for him. Gaining some confidence, she asked him, "Mayuri-sama, would you like me to take part in your paperwork?"

He continued writing, not even looking up at her from his seat at his desk, "The Ninth found out a few weeks ago that I didn't write all of my paperwork and so they docked some of our funding as consequences." A pause between as he picked up a new sheet of paper to continue filling out his reports, "They were actually serious, calling it an offence and compromising information that could lead to the imbalance of the worlds. The fools." While one hand was writing, the other picked up another sheet and moved it towards her, "But I should also think it lucky that Kyoraku-san was here today and that he was desperate." He threw another pen onto the desk. "Try to do better in forging my signature at the very least."

Nemu eagerly began helping.

The extra set of hands ended up being significant for they were able to finish by one in the morning. Nemu assumed that he must've been very fatigued even after ingesting a few of his special pills to stay awake for he put up no resistance when, after she put away his paperwork and cleared his desk, she subtly held his hand and led him back to their barracks.

As soon as they entered their quarters, Mayuri flopped onto the sofa in the main room. He removed his zanpakuto from his obi and set it on the seat next to him; he then began removing as much as he could from him: the captain haori, the frame around his face, his scarf…. until he was wearing only his shihakusho, the obi discarded and his jacket and kosode parted slightly. She left him for a few moments and arrived with a tray of tea.

Again, he complained that she should at least read up on how to make good tea before she went about making more and he still drank every single drop of his cup. He set the cup on the ground and ran his painted hands through his blue hair. He sighed, "Nemu-chan. It's not just looking at you that makes me more tired, but when you're tired I feel even more tired. Come here. Sit." He sounded stern, not at all friendly as his words might've indicated. It was clear that he was irritated.

He had taken one side of the safa while his zanpakuto took up the other two places. She saw no alternative and so took a seat upon his lap. She saw him peek at her with an open eye that was not completely covered by his hand. Then she saw him close both eyes, his expression peaceful and serene.

"I don't want to do anything right now. Another time when I'm not so tired." His other hand moved to stroke her back affectionately and she leaned into him; her head tucked beneath his chin like at times when they slept, and her hands gripped the edge of his kosode. His nose touched her hairline, she felt him breathe deep. His lips brushed by the spot above her eyebrow. She sighed, listening to the metronome-like beat of his heart.

They had been lovers since the start of the year and he remained more or less indifferent to her charms. She knew that she was attractive and yet she felt horribly inadequate, sitting there in his lap. She would employ whatever she could to gain his attentions but he only bestowed upon her when he felt like it. She did not understand why he should not want her when she was offering herself to him eagerly whenever the opportunity presented itself. It had been more than a month since they had last copulated together. Desire swept itself through her core when she heard him slightly groan. The sound reminded her of past nights in bed together when he made the same sound as he mounted her, or when she sheathed herself over him, whenever she moved just right…. The sound made her want him more than ever and she involuntarily pressed her rear harder against his pelvis. There was another groan from him. The edge of her thumb touched his skin and she felt goose bumps rise from him.

"Nemu-chan." the suffix was used only in privacy between the two of them.

Her nose brushed by the side of his face as she looked up at him. "Yes, Mayuri-sama?" Desire was clear in her breathy voice.

"Stop moving like that. I have half a mind to push you off with all your pawing." albeit his voice was tired and gentle.

She ducked her head down and shut her eyes tight, "I apologize, Mayuri-sama. I will leave you, if you wish."

She so hoped that he would let her stay. He patted her back and began rubbing down the length of her spine. She felt pitiful. How could he sometimes act so gentle and then deny her? It was uncontrollable, this want of hers. She closed her eyes and gripped tighter onto the hem of his shihakusho. She could not stop herself from uttering his name.

His voice was hard, "I have already told you that I'm tired, you little slut."

Before she could offer any protest or apology, he clawed into the flesh of her arms and shoulders, and wrenched them upwards. He planted a brutal kill upon her lips. Though pleased to have him kiss her, there was a sharp pain to the gesture. She tasted the metallic tang of blood. When they parted so that he could breathe, she saw the unmistakable flecks of red on the side of his mouth.

"Ah!" she cried as his hands scratched down the length of her to the hill of her thighs.

He lifted the short skirt of her uniform and pulled away the white cotton panties she wore. It cut into her skin and she helped to take it off. It rested upon to the floor and she saw him adroitly release himself from his hakama. She raised herself up, preparing to impale herself upon him. But he was forceful, he was quick, and he was rough… Gripping her hips, he plunged her over him and she gasped loud, from the sudden shock of him entering her. She was not ready! He was already doing away with her. He moved in a certain way that hit a spot inside her, incited for her to toss her head back, the sides of it splitting. Her hands went to her temple and grabbed handfuls of hair.

She undulated, a cry of victory and at once submission. She screamed. She felt her pelvis involuntarily roll towards him and his arm wrap around her closer. The other crept up her stomach, whipping her wide obi away. Fwap! Her breath was momentarily squeezed out of her. The obi joined her panties on the floor. His hand cupped her breast. He gripped it harder and her head snapped back towards him. She muttered a high little, "Ah!"

They kissed. His tongue swept throughout her mouth, as though seeking more of the blood. He was often very painful in bed. She could hardly count the times that he was gentle. She could not explain or fathom why or how he could be so rough, so brutal, in this act when he was kinder in every other retrospect. He crushed her in his hold, almost wanting to hurt her. He brutalized her and she wanted him in any way she could get him. Her first time with him had been none too gentle either, he had taken her and it was an experience that made her feel used and abused. But she could never get rid of the memory of how alive he made her feel whenever they copulated together.

He brought her closer, her bare stomach rubbing against the fabric cloaked over him. Cat-like, she raked her nails over his shoulders, his neck, the sides of his arm. She wanted to hurt him as he was hurting her, the masochists' tango. He shuddered under her little claws, a hoarse exclamation that delighted her. How odd it was to love her father captain so and then want to see him like this. She called out his name, repeating it over and over again like it was some sort of mantra, the holy name of her God. She winced when she felt a pain below, and voiced it loudly in a shriek.

She was only aware of how tight he was holding her, how strong his arms seemed to be compared to her spine, that he could break her into two. She could feel his face over the surface of her chest, feel its contortions of his own agony in euphoria. She wished she could've seen it; see the eyes closed as though in torture, the grimace on the mouth, and the teeth bared. He groaned in that way she so loved and she immediately felt herself grew wetter. Then she felt herself to be more active in participation, ramming herself harder upon him that his groans grew louder. A hoarse breath from him sent shivers throughout her body. Ecstasy, the two were common in ecstasy. Another groan and she wanted to hear more.

"L-Like this, Mayuri-sama?" She arched into him and felt the warmth of his paints transfer onto her own perspiration-covered body, felt the drag of his nose and his chin on the curve of her belly. She could acutely feel him moving inside her, the part of him burrowing deep inside, planting itself within her flower. Fire burned upwards on the front of her, the skin stretching.

"God, yes, like that." his voice was ragged and husky. The feel of his teeth and tongue moving across the skin below her breasts as he spoke was delicious. The sounds they made was music and cacophony to her ears, a certain acquired tune that some innate sense in the two of them could only appreciate.

She felt his thrusting to slow, sure and harder, but slower than it had been in the beginning. A strange sound from the back of her throat escaped through her lips, a sort of choking sound. She could hear the clack of his teeth as he continuously moved and the huff of his breath. Then he was still. And she felt the moist below grow even more moist and smelled the distinct scent of the arduous amour. He trembled and breathed a long breath. She felt her ardour below to slowly die. The feeling was nice, him still inside her, and then he slipped out. He fell back onto the back of the sofa and reared his head back slowly. She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him; the apple of his throat, his chin, the sharp jaw line, the spot below his cheek bones, above his brow. She brushed his hair clear out of his face. She thanked him and rested her head against his bare chest.

He chuckled. "I can't decide sometimes whether I should kill you or not. I can see your insatiable appetite being the death of me."

"Please, do not speak of yourself dying, Mayuri-sama." she begged him.

There was mirth in his voice, a sort of kinder afterglow from copulation. "Why not? Squeamish at the thought of death?" She knew that he was joking with that last statement.

"I do not want to think of you dying, Mayuri-sama. I'll die with you when the time comes." she confessed candidly.

"Don't say stupid things or people will begin to think you're stupid. I won't permit you to die, not for what I have planned in store for you."

"But I will not find the will to live without you, Mayuri-sama." She wondered if he knew how it tugged her heart to be telling him things like this, that they were not by any means the impressionable words of a girl in adoration, but they were the honest truth. That she would literally die without him; unable to survive in a world without his guidance and certainly without his presence.

"I'll give you a purpose to live when I'm gone." he told her, his voice utterly serious, "Understand this: people will always die. It's only natural to die, Nemu-chan."

If ever asked, she would truthfully answer that she hated it when he called her 'Nemu-chan'. Because she learnt long ago that that was his way of differentiating her from her mother. When he called her Nemu-chan, he was addressing her; when he called her Nemu, she knew him to be thinking of only one person there. Nothing was how it was with this man. Whatever affiliation given between her and her mother only served to deepen her depression about the situation; that he only wanted her because she was the closest thing he could have to the only woman he had ever wanted, that he did not want her for herself but for other selfish reasons. The thought was humiliating for Nemu, who wanted him only for herself: wanted only him to see her and not the face of a dead woman.

"Are you thinking about your captain right now?" she asked, the thoughts pestering her so much that she finally had to voice it. She could take his harsh kisses and his abuse when they were together, finding pleasure in the agony and pain. But she could not understand why she would want to hurt herself this way: ask a question she knew the answer to and that hurt her. She always knew his answers and she only asked to put her mind at ease, no matter how nauseous it made her to hear.

"Yes." he told her. Her heart was close to breaking at that realization.

She tightened her hold on his shihakusho. "Did you think about her when we were…" _'fucking?_', her voice trailed off, trying to think of some better way to phrase it.

He answered without her finishing, "Yes." His honesty, though much appreciated, was sometimes too brutal for her. She thought that he could've at least lied to her, she wouldn't mind it now at that moment. "And you're bothered by that." he added.

Yes, she wanted to say but she could not confess it so easily. Nonetheless, she knew that he could feel that she was uncomfortable.

"Nemu-chan, I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that I wouldn't go to her if she was here right now. No matter what, I would always choose her over you." She nodded her head, "Yes, Mayuri-sama." His hand cupped her chin and raised her face up to face him. She was at once entranced by his copper eyes and disturbed by how deep and penetrative they could be. "It's because she came first that I think of her before you. That's the way of the world." She thought of how unfair it was, that she should lose to a dead woman only because she was late for him.  
>He continued lecturing her, his eyes burning through her and appeared to be boring into her skull, "You may think that it's only because I know you that I can tell how you would react, but know that I also understand what you feel. You think you're the only one right now to feel that way? She was my captain and she belonged more to me than anybody else, but she was also <em>his<em> lieutenant and her heart and soul belonged to him then. I know what you're feeling right now and I'm not going to humour you by telling you that you're who I think about when I fuck. What will lying serve? You're here because I want you here, nothing more."

It was all pouring out now. "Then there is no hope? You will never love me as you loved her?" she restrained herself from crying. He never liked to see tears.

"I never loved her. I wanted her like a man wants food and water. I needed her like a man needs air and reason. But I never loved her."

It was hardly a comfort to Nemu. "I will always do what I must to please you. And" she gained her confidence to hold his face and narrow her eyes at him. She kissed him hard on the lips and he returned the kiss. They parted. Calm and austere, she told him, "I will never give up." 'to _be your number one_.' She rested her head against him and resigned herself to sleep.

An impossible goal, but nothing was impossible because it meant perfection and he always told her that nothing was perfect. She was determined that one day he should see her brighter and better than the captain he knew before. Was it not the way of the world, for the child to one day outclass the parent? Did he not surpass his own father?

As though he had read her mind, she heard his dare out of the stillness when she thought that he had fallen asleep too, "I'd like to see you try. "

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><p><strong>So, they're already lovers at this bit. It's already been maybe twenty years since the last chapter, but Nemu looks like a 16-19 year old while Mayuri looks to be in his early to mid thirties. <strong>

**Um... I don't really know what else to say. Truthfully, this didn't turn out as well as I had hoped and I consider it a miracle that I even got a single review on this... Sorry in advance if this was a let down... Um... critique if you want but be kind about it, nice... Shit, I really wanted the ending to be like, "And the cycle continues" or something along those lines... because it does continue. Mayuri cloned himself as a precaution because he didn't want to die and raised Nemu because she was the daughter he strived to have(see Prompt: Father). Nemu raised the clone because she didn't want to live in a world where Mayuri wasn't there and so cloned herself afterwards because Mayuri's clone formed an attachment to her as she did for the orginal Mayuri and she wanted someone to be there for him even if it was not her. Clone Mayuri raises Clone Nemu because he loved the original Nemu and will clone himself too to give Nemu a reason to live. And so on... After the original Mayuri and Nemu, it then becomes a sort of tradition to clone each other because that's what it's always been like...**

**I hope you guys enjoyed this.**

**But um... tell me what you think.**


	10. Special: Deleted Scenes and Epilogue

**Ngoc Chau does not own Bleach**

**So these are sort of like deleted scenes. Stuff I liked and really wanted to put in the fanfic but felt that they had no place in the storyline. It sort of lets you understand the characters a little better and have a chance to see them in a different view. But after reading, I'm sure you'll sort of see why I had to chuck these parts out. Where else would I have put them?**

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><p><strong>Akon meets Mayuri<strong>

Akon had eyed the little boy hiding behind Nemu's trouser skirts. Mayuri, she had introduced him as. He was to expect that he would be the next Chief? Never. He couldn't hear what Nemu was saying, could only study the hiding eyes of the little boy before him. When he could not hear the chime of her voice anymore, he answered almost automatically, "Sure. No problem, Taicho." He looked up to see her smile.

She turned around and left, her hand caressing the boy's blue hair as the distance between her and the two of them became greater. She had not painted his face yet and he looked ridiculous, for the dark skin was so un-Japanese. He was used to seeing the skeletal design of black and white upon a male Kurotsuchi. Mayuri tilted his head, the eyes narrowing.

Akon crouched down to Mayuri's level, the latter suddenly looking very on the spot. "What" Akon first said to Mayuri, "is that stare for?"

He looked to be mustering up his wills to speak, and what a boyish voice he possessed. So unlike the Chief. "I don't like you."  
>Well, the response was very like the Chief's.<p>

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><p><strong>Mayuri's tantrums<strong>

Although no longer very 'young' as others called him, Mayuri had found a marvellous outlet by drawing moustaches on every one of his 'father's' portraits. He could not explain why defacing the man gave his own ego a burst and a stronger sense of superiority. Others were speechless when he came forward without any prompting that it was he who was the new residential artist of the SDRI.

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><p><strong>Scientists trying to bully Mayuri<strong>

A fond memory of Nemu was when Mayuri had not yet been obligated to go to the Academy and so she had brought him with her to the labs. Although she had made sure that the shinigami should not provoke her boy, it did not stop them from sending him on little errands.

How humorous it was then when one week, Mayuri was constantly seeking approval from everybody; only in the following week when someone ordered him to get everyone in Monitor Lab 5 their lunch, he had responded indignantly with his head held high, "Fuck you, go get it yourself."

Over the laughter of others who had witnessed the scene, Nemu had to explain that she didn't know where he had picked it up from. She supposed that was his father in him.

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><p><strong>Nemu visits Mayuri at the Academy<strong>

She felt as though she was being given the treat of something that on one else could understand or appreciate. To see Mayuri in the academy, wearing the white kosode and the navy hakama, his skin still left unpainted and his body untouched by machinery and modifications. Though she knew it would not be long before otherwise. It was as though she possessed the chance to see her creator as he was before she came into his life, before he was put into the Maggots' Nest. Though she feared that it might happen to him, she was confident that she could pull enough strings to make sure everything went smoothly in his life until he would be captain like their creator.

He did in fact looked very un-Japanese with his dark skin and blue hair among the other darker haired, fairer skinned students. All the more easily for him to covet her attentions as he stood in line with his other classmates. She watched as it came to his turn, to have to perform any spell without an incantation. He held out his hand, the other supporting his wrist. "**_Hado 31!"_** There was a large brilliant crimson ball of energy before his palm that shot off like a cannon, leaving a trail of dust and debris in its way as it took off half of the building. It was obvious that not even Mayuri himself knew just how strong it could be.

Everyone around him was down for the count, their clothes singed, he on the other hand remained standing with soot on his dark face and his kosode torn off his shoulders.  
>The instructor next to her complimented, "Your son has quite a talent, taicho. He's only been here a few months and he acts as though he's been here longer."<p>

She had to smile as some of the shinigami had to ask for assistance to get up.

* * *

><p><strong>Mayuri in the Gotei 13<strong>

Mayuri looked over his zanpakuto: Asishoji Jizo. At first, he had been impressed with himself: the zanpakuto's shikai that could render anything it cut to be paralyzed yet the sense of pain remained. How twisted! Yet that joy had turned sour when he learned that the previous captain's zanpakuto had done just that. Another thing to tie him closer to that man, to prove they were evermore the same.

A sudden knocking came at the door and Mayuri sheathed his zanpakuto away, placing the weapon on a nearby stand and simultaneously picking up his lab coat to sport. He allowed entrance and Megane bowed to him. "Congratulations on your new promotion, fukutaicho."

He raised a brow, "You seriously didn't just come here to tell me that, did you?"

She shook her head, "There's a meeting going on for lieutenants and they've been sending jigokucho to you for a while. So they asked me to deliver a message to you."

He nodded his head and set off, wondering if this promotion really was what it was cracked out to be.

* * *

><p><strong>Mayuri gets a portfolio<strong>

The portfolio held no significance to him. But he had found it useful upon observing what the lieutenant over at Eighth did with the heavy book in her arms. Since he was promoted to lieutenant, he had found his work consisted more of paperwork than Hollow-slaying.  
>The multiple uses of the thickly enforced portfolio was discovered when he gave a sharp whack to a sleeping shinigami on the job and promptly handed him a stack of paperwork from said portfolio.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Mayuri learns something about Nemu<strong>

Looking over his captain blueprints and files, he was intrigued to how she could survive events that would've killed any other kind of shinigami. He voiced his thoughts to her. She answered with a blush that his father had a procedure that was something like a resurrection for her as long as her body was still salvageable.

He found himself blushing mad when she explained the process. After the lengthy discussion, the only thing he could ask her afterward was, "Well…. Did it need to be specifically _him_ to make it effective?"

* * *

><p><strong>Never piss off the Lieutenant<strong>

Revenge was never good, particularly when dealing with the lieutenant of the Twelfth Division.

Rin recalled an unlucky shinigami who had the misfortune to offend the blue-haired shinigami. Said shinigami was later requested to accompany the Twelfth Division on an outdoor expedition.

The following week, they finally found him after he was reported missing in a crater-like ditch out in the Rukongai with his hair burned off, muttering, "I won't do it again, I don't do it again, I won't do it again, Iwontdoitagain, Iwontdoitagain…"

* * *

><p><strong>Mayuri and Nemu takes a bath<strong>

He discussed what they should do next week since the data for subjects 256 and 67 were progressing better and faster than they had thought. He leaned over the edge of the tub and pulled out a document that had been laminated. He pointed out new ideas and asked for her approval though it was hardly ever needed. As everyone knew it, the lieutenant was the real leader in the shadows of the division. As he leaned over the edge of the tub and read out what he had written and what others had pointed out to him, his voice involuntarily got caught in his throat. He dropped the paper and looked over his unpainted shoulder.

Nemu nodded her head, "Yes. Please do so, fukutaicho." as she washed his back.

He shuddered and tried to will the blood to continue flowing evenly throughout every vein of his body, to not pool south as he turned around to face his captain. She chided him, "You still have some soap on your back." He moved back to his position and allowed her to continue scrubbing at his back. Why was he such a masochist for agreeing to take a bath with his captain? But she had sashayed past him, resting both of her hands on his shoulders, and asked if he would like a bath. He had no qualms about it. When he had followed her to the bathroom, he had not expected his captain to strip as well. His face had burned to see her nude form, utterly beautiful and crafted with such skill.

Her voice next to his ear ruined what great concentration he had and he felt the ache below. "I'm all done."

He turned around in the tub and had to claw his nails into his palm to keep from stuttering. "Fine. My turn, then?"

She thanked him as she turned around and he thought it truly masochistic to be reduced to touch her unclothed skin chastely.

* * *

><p><strong>Mayuri's modifications<strong>

He flexed his left hand, still sore from the surgery. And his ears were aching. He could not eat solids for a month, would have to gorge himself on pills to make sure his body's circulation and temperature was maintained, he was not allowed to do anything save pace for fear that it might cause his arms to fall off, and he was left with a massive headache.

Was this really worth it so that he could use his arm as a grappling hook, survive a hole to the stomach, and hear everything within Seireitei?

* * *

><p><strong>Mayuri's new look<strong>

"Oh!" Nemu exclaimed as she saw Mayuri walk downstairs. He had painted himself completely white save for the black badger mask that made his golden eyes appear brighter. He had combed back his hair and suddenly looked as though he aged 10 years overnight. With the blue hair atop his head, the paints on him and the cones that improved his hearing; Nemu felt as though she was with her captain once more.

"I know it looks weird, but he wore it like this too and everyone keeps always looks at me. This ought to be more than enough reason to look at me now."

She always knew that he was sensitive about his dark skin. She caressed a white cheek and smiled, "You look so handsome. I like it."

* * *

><p><strong>Mayuri finds a test subject<strong>

"Well, did you find me a volunteer yet?" he asked the group of shinigami harshly.

They were shaking in their boots. "Um... We're sorry, fukutaicho, but so far no one is willing to go with us to the SDRI. They're worried something might happen to them."

His palm hit his face. "You idiots! You just had to convince them to come to the Twelfth Barracks. You didn't need to tell them anymore!" Of course something was going to happen to them, he thought, he was going to demonstrate a new invention today: an improved Hojiku-Zai. As he looked up, his eye caught a glimpse of black. There was a lone subject.  
>"I guess" he mused outloud, "if you want something done right, you do it yourself." He strode quickly to his target, his group of shinigami following behind and clamouring. Thinking quick on his feet, he pulled out his handkerchief and a bottle of chlorofom from his labcoat. He dabbed a little bit of the contents onto the handkerchief.<p>

They approached the average-looking shinigami.

"Ah, Kurotsuchi-fukutaicho. Is there anything I can help with?" he asked with doe-like eyes.

Mayuri subtly slipped away the bottle into his sleeves and held out the handkerchief to him. "Do me a favour, will you? Shinbo there in the back thinks that this doesn't smell like flowers. Prove to me it does."

The hapless victim leaned forward and took a whiff, before feeling smothered.

* * *

><p><strong>Mayuri is acting strange<strong>

Among the lower ranked scientists, who were hardly of any use but running errands and doing stupid jobs that the middle-ranked shinigami felt were too much below their dignity to do, and the higher ranked scientists, who did not have to burden themselves with too much work anymore but management, whispers were exchanged over how peculiar the lieutenant was acting. "Did you hear about it? He actually wanted to escort Unohana-taicho himself!" one pointed out.

"I know! And it's not with her. I saw Akane bump into him and he told him to be careful!"

"Careful?" came the unison exclamation. "Just last month, he nearly chewed out Akane for going to the bathroom when it wasn't break yet. What's up with the lieutenant acting so… so… so nice?"

"There's only one answer." a voice behind them said. It was Akon, Kuma, and Doru: senior head scientists of the SDRI. Doru fanned himself haughtily, "I've seen this years before. It's so obvious: the lieutenant's in love."

They laughed, "In love with who? I've seen the lieutenant take measurements of all sort of shinigami - women too - and not a single one of them ever turned him on!"

Doru tossed his chin up, "Then he's finally getting some nookie then."

More laughter, "At this age? He's almost fifty, isn't he? It took him that long?"

And for the life of them, they fearfully could not stop laughing even when the Lieutenant approached them with a frown on his expressions, "And what is so funny here?"

* * *

><p><strong>Nemu does something with her hair<strong>

The captain walked into the labs with her hair let down in a plait. They wondered what was the occasion that she had decided to change her look. "Because I felt like it." she told them.

The lieutenant walked up to her, "I like the change."

It did not escape Megane's eyes how the lieutenant played with the fringe of her braid as he walked behind her; his maniac's grin that seemed to be reserved only for the captain, and the latter's face always blazing red.

* * *

><p><strong>Nemu being healed by Mayuri<strong>

Nemu winced to hear Mayuri sigh out loud as he applied the various lotions and potions to her battered body. "I believe that you will be remembered as the only captain in the history of the Soul Society to kill hollows by killing herself as well."

She apologized, his life was worth more to her than her own.

He gave her a sharp tap on her head, "I can do Bankai too, I'm not some novice fresh out of the academy."

She nodded her head.

His hands caressed the side of her face so gently that she grew dizzy, his hands moving to hold the hill of her breasts. He moved over her, it was as though he knew what effect his words were having on her. "Will you only stop treating me like a little boy when we're in bed?"

* * *

><p><strong>Akon is a potential rival<strong>

Mayuri saw red when Akon nearly bumped into him; but it was not the near accident that infuriated him but that he had been alone with his captain before Mayuri had arrived. He entered the room to see her on the hospital bed, she had bandages wrapped around her arm and her head.

She smiled at him, "Mayuri-sama."

He nodded his head, "Taicho." and sat down by her bed, presenting her with paperwork that must be filled out for her injuries report. But concern for his captain disappeared from his mind. All he could think about was lithium and potassium, of where he could find Akon alone. Man was always in the labs and he couldn't risk anything happening to their work. But perhaps if he forged something from his captain, he would most likely follow and then -

His thoughts of violence were sealed away when she pulled him closer to her and kissed him on his lips, "Please don't. He's such a good scientist."

He gave a sigh, "I wasn't going to do anything."

* * *

><p><strong>Nemu's death<strong>

"Taicho! Taicho!" he begged her as he held her in his arms. What sort of death was this for a captain? To have to be slain by her own lieutenant because she was being possessed by a Hollow? The inky shadow of the Hollow was slowly disappearing from her white skin, its effects going away by the second. The golden blade of his zanpakuto slid out of her stomach. The rain was heavy around them, pounding hard.

She breathed frantically, her eyes drowning. "I'm so… sorry." she said to him. But a smile grew on her face. She was not even trying. She was letting herself die, not even wanting to fight it. No struggle, just acceptance. "M-Mayuri… sama." she breathed out.

He knew that it was not him that she was seeing, that it was not him she was calling out for. "Taicho!" he fruitlessly called out.

* * *

><p><strong>Unohana and Mayuri<strong>

He got up from the covers.

"Is something the matter?" Unohana asked him, her breath panting.

He looked over his darkened shoulder as he picked up his clothes. His captain, his lover, had just died and he was already in some other woman's bed?

Unohana, nude, moved closer to him, "Are you okay?"

He did not want to look at her anymore. He had not even finished when he found his libido failing him. What had he been thinking. "Sorry. I'm… I'm tired." It was a lie. "I'll make it up to you." So was that one.

"It's not your fault." she assured him. Her hand smoothed his back. "I thought that you didn't want to be alone so…"

He got off her bed and adjusted his shihakusho, retrieving his zanpakuto on her sword stand.

As he was about to exit her rooms, she called out to him, "Do you want me with you at the will reading tomorrow?"

He didn't want to look at her, didn't want to fall to another one of her spells; what had lured him into her bed before. "No. I don't want you there."

He left abruptly, shunpo-ing out into the streets. He walked outside back to the Twelfth barracks.

The moon was full outside, autumn moon.

_Many a desolate autumn have I known, but never have my tears flowed as tonight._

Of course he wasn't crying. But he could not help but to look up to the moon and imagine the blinding skin he had touched so many years ago for the first time. Yes, this was a most dreary autumn.

* * *

><p><strong>Alternate introduction of Nemu<strong>

The comb moved through her hair like a knife through hot butter. It was a darker sheen than anyone else's hair and he took pride in her appearance as though he constructed her himself. He may as well have. Yet as he brushed her dark hair, he could not keep his mind on anything, let alone her, but the woman he had known what felt like a lifetime ago.

"Mayuri-sama?" she asked as she turned around. Nemu peered at him as he sighed. "Is something the matter? Do you need me to get anything for you?" she asked so innocently.

He tugged at a lock of her hair. "Nothing's the matter, Nemu-chan. Sit still or you'll have more tangles in your hair. Honestly, I should cut the whole thing off so that I won't have to comb through it for you anymore." he answered.

"Yes, Mayuri-sama." she said but then as though she thought back to what else he had said about her hair, she seemed to be about to protest.

His chortles interrupted her, "Dear me, so worried over just hair! No, I'm not going to cut it because it just so happens to be my favourite part of you. But I won't allow you to act vain on that account."

"Yes, Mayuri-sama." and he heard relief in her voice.

She looked thirteen to his advanced age that he definitely looked the part of a father. But she was not of conventional origins that others would expect whenever he introduced her as his 'daughter'. No, she was not really his daughter. She was his captain's daughter, his sister's daughter, his mother's daughter. The whole relation was entirely incestuous and he chose better to think of her as his daughter than anyone else's. He thought back to the first day he had her. The day that his life seemed bleak and suddenly promising.

* * *

><p><strong>Mayuri tries to be different from his father<strong>

No matter what he did, it did not seem that he could ever deviate from resembling his 'father'. He wanted to keep the black and white scheme of his face because he covered up his dark skin most of all among other reasons. And he enjoyed the golden cones on his ears that ameliorated his hearing exponentially that he could very well be the best gossipmonger in all of Seireitei. He did not consider himself a vain man, but he was definitely not going to dye his hair or shave all the blue off simply for cosmetic reasons.

But a phase of his life was occurring now and he wanted a change. He looked at the portrait of his 'father' before he would have the thing and any other portrait carted off to storage. As much as he hated the man, it appeared that he had taste.

When he appeared before Unohana, Kukichi, and the Soutaicho for his captain proficiency test; there was a gasp and he could hear the whispers outside the hall of the room. They spoke of how it was like the Twelfth Captain had returned from the dead. There was no chance out-running the plans of a dead man.

He pulled out his zanpakuto that hung in front of his legs.

* * *

><p><strong>Mayuri's inauguration as Captain<strong>

Once Mayuri was inaugurated as captain, the first thing he did was take down that portrait of his 'father' in the Main corridor of the SDRI. It would not do for people to go mistaking him for that man and if he thought it was embarrassing before when he was lieutenant, the embarrassment only grew when he was captain. Better get rid of it quick.

* * *

><p><strong>Nemu does not remember Mayuri<strong>

"Ah." Nemu faltered before the dark skinned man in front of her. She backed away from him and tried to not let her eyes draw low to his naked form, scarred and toned. But she could not help herself when she saw the colour of blue contrasting with the dark skin and this was not at his head. She let out another "Ah!" She had never seen a naked man before.

He stepped forward and she stepped back. He asked her for the towel that was in her hands, that was intended for her father.

But where was he? She had heard him calling and hurried to find him a towel and when she finally did, she saw him nowhere. Nemu handed the towel to the stranger and kept her eyes glued to the ground, not daring to look at the dark man any longer.

"Why so untalkative? You're usually chatting my ears off."

She recognized the voice and looked up and saw the golden eyes of him. She bowed swiftly, "I apologize, Mayuri-sama."

He covered himself with the towel. He moved past her and she caught scent of soap and shampoo and him, the combination made her stomach flutter.

"Hmph. Maybe I should expose to you if ever I want more peace and quiet." he said to her like a joke.

When he left the room, she had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from squealing in her palms. She was composed, going to his closet and pulling out his clothes for him.

* * *

><p><strong>Nemu falls in love<strong>

She could not understand the attraction of it, really how she could continue with her feelings, and even if she did she was so sure that it would frighten her witless. He was handsome, he was strong, he was intelligent, he was of a good age, he was elite, he was creative, he was artistic... and he was her father. He was her father and fathers and daughters loved each other in a very specific way.

She turned her head, the pillow almost obscuring her view. They were always sleeping in the same bed and she did not wish to change it and so she never made any suggestion to it. His arms remained wrapped around her and his dark lids were closed. She heard him lightly snoring. Oh, she had fallen in love with her father.

When? The first time she had seen him? How? Because she knew that she was not really his and yet he insisted on raising her as a daughter, there seemed to be no malicious intent. Something tied her to him, demanded that if she ever left him she would be better off drowning herself.

Her lips brushed by the bridge of his nose as she murmured, "Mayuri-sama."

He gave a groan, "Sleeping."

Her lips moved over his forehead, "Mayuri-sama. You have to wake up." He had told her to wake him up, no matter what, yesterday after he had come home so late. Her lips moved lower over his closed lid, "Mayuri-sama."

"Go to sleep, Nemu!" and he pulled her closer to him.

* * *

><p><strong>Mayuri teaches Nemu<strong>

"And I add this solution to this precipitate." she concluded. There was a reaction of gas and then it settled as violet.

She looked to him for approval and saw him yawning. "Yes, yes. Very nice."

She was worried that she was boring him. "I apologize, Mayuri-sama, for wasting your time. But I -"

She was interrupted with his finger on her lips. "Shut up. No talking about anything else unless it's what I'm teaching you."

She nodded her head, "Yes, sir. Sorry, sir."

He pulled out a beaker from somewhere on the table and asked her to identify it.

She did so.

"Good. Now do you know what will happen when you add this compound to that compound."

She could not answer and so stayed silent.

"Dear me, what sort of reaction will this have? Will it be endothermic or exothermic? You're creating an explosive right now! Try to concentrate!"

* * *

><p><strong>Nemu at the academy<strong>

Mayuri walked through the familiar Academy Halls that he had walked through some hundred years ago. The instructor was going on and on about something that Mayuri had begun to tune him out. He stopped outside the training halls for hakuda classes. The class was co-ed, a gaggle of girl shinigami standing against the wall cheering for Nemu while it appeared that most of the boy shinigami were cornering his daughter, Nemu.

Mayuri pointed this out to the instructor who assured him that he had no reason to worry about his daughter's well-being, he should be worried instead about whether she would be able to have opponents for next time. "She's perfect in her form and skill." he complimented.

"No one is perfect." Mayuri told him, "It's a fact of life that there's always room for improvement where there's will and concentration. Nobody is the exception."

In a white kosode, red hakama, and her long dark hair plaited down her back; he watched as she swiftly and efficiently lifted two - three shinigami above her head and tossed them away from her. Her speed was admirable and her skill and manipulation of her own body was almost hypnotising to watch. As though like in a dance, she moved effortless around her opponents and disabled them one at a time all the while stalling them off until it was their turn. After a good period, all those who had fought against her were down and out for the count.

The instructor nudged Mayuri's arm, "What do you think, Kurotsuchi-taicho? Your daughter has quite a talent for Hakuda. I can easily imagining her joining the Onmitsukido with ease!"

"She will be joining the Twelfth." Mayuri informed him.

"Kurotsuchi-taicho, I recall that you were brilliant in your academics as well as Kido, and you prevailed in the scientific community of the Twelfth. Though bright your daughter is, I cannot imagine that she would be better placed in the Onmitsukido."

Mayuri glared him down, "My daughter, my choice."

He entered the training hall and was greeted by Nemu. "Mayuri-sama." she bowed low to him and the gaggle of girls that had stood watching suddenly began squawking.

Mayuri paid them no attention. "Nemu." he returned with a nod of his head.

"You did not write to me that you were coming today. I was expecting you next month. What is the reason for your visit? Has something happened?" Despite the time he had spent teaching her, she was still so child-like.

He rolled his eyes, "Can't a man see his daughter whenever he wants to?"

* * *

><p><strong>Runs in the family<strong>

He shrugged his shoulders casually, "Sure. Incest is a harmless practice for us." She was blushing like mad. "Look, if you're going to act like that now that I've told you then you shouldn't have asked me in the first place." He chastised.

She nodded, "Yes, Mayuri-sama."

He rolled his eyes, "I handled the news better than you when I was your age."

She did not understand.

"The only reasons why incest is considered a taboo is because of genetics, they fear what sort of malformed progeny may rise from related loins. Hence, they don't need any freaks among us. Though our sexual organs are functioning well, we are of course sterile from the constant interaction of chemicals. So there's nothing to worry about if we consent to use each other like that. Even the insane can get lonely."

She nodded, "Yes, Mayuri-sama."

A group of students passed by the window. "You've been hearing the rumours, haven't you." he observed.

She nodded her head, "Yes, Mayuri-sama."

"Does it bother you?" he asked.

"I… I was only curious."

"I asked if it bothered you." she was always avoiding the question, answering obliquely.

"Not at all."

He got up from his seat, he had taken too much time that month seeing Nemu at the Academy.

As he was about to exit, Nemu asked him, "But did you and the last captain…"

He answered her, "Yes. And she with her captain before that. Lord knows what _that man_ got into before. Seems to run in the family, doesn't it?" He chuckled.

She stood up, the red hakama rustling, "Mayuri-sama!"

"What? You want to have your curiosity _satisfied_?"

She hesitated. He left the room feeling that the conversation was going to lead to something not worth discussing yet.

* * *

><p><strong>Nemu in the Gotei 13<strong>

"And just what" he eyed his daughter from head to toe, "are you wearing?"

She had become more outgoing since he had made her the lieutenant almost as she had simultaneously graduated from the Academy in six years. "Sadako-san gave it to me. She insisted that I wear it."

He looked at it some more. "As long as you don't distract the others." he told her. He was already foreseeing the disadvantages of his daughter wearing a skirt that showed off her slender legs and the wide obi that made her torso look slimmer and longer. If he had to admit it, she looked rather adorable in an adult way.

Her eyes lowered to the ground as she hugged her portfolio to her chest. There was a blush on her face. "I wouldn't dream of distracting anybody else, Mayuri-sama."

* * *

><p><strong>Akon and Nemu<strong>

Akon did not love Nemu as he had loved the previous. It was because it was not her. It was the same form and the same soul(as proven by the zanpakuto) but it was not her. Just like the Kurotsuchi Mayuri who strutted around the labs with his painted face and zanpakuto in the front of him was not his Chief. The two people he had loved were gone to be replaced with copies that would only pale in comparison to them.

Though he might find himself respecting his captain more than he should or finding himself staring at the lieutenant longer than he ought to, he still reminded himself that those two were not the same people he knew and cared for. Even when her hand would brush by his and he felt the same beating of his heart as he did for her progenitor, it was the voice in his telling him that it wasn't her that kept him from loving her.

* * *

><p><strong>Mayuri won't let Nemu have her zanpakuto<strong>

"I don't understand, Mayuri-sama." she confessed as she reluctantly handed him her zanpakuto: Kuri Akutareguchi. She thought it rather strange that he should push her to learn Shikai as quick as possible and when it was demonstrated that she could use it effectively against a Hollow, it should be taken away.

He sighed as he placed it on the sword stand in a corner of his office, "You don't understand much, do you? Here, I'm putting away your zanpakuto. You are not to use it unless I saw so. You and I know that you are as capable in Hakuda as anybody working in the Maggots Nest to take down anyone with your bare hands. And that you can perform Kido spells up to level 85 without a single incantation. Your zanjutsu and your zanpakuto, on the other hand, is sub-par. You just toss yourself into battle and let your zanpakuto do the work while I have to end up fixing and healing you." He came close to her and gripped her shoulders, "Listen to me, I am a captain and you are merely a lieutenant. My Bankai is unnecessarily dangerous that I hardly need anybody else on the field with me, everyone is considered baggage."

She directed her eyes to the hilt of his zanpakuto, "I can fight."

"I know you can fight and I know you're going to get killed with your fighting style. It's no difficult task to save you, but I don't want you fighting with a zanpakuto. You're useful enough that my Konjiki Ashisoji Jizo and other poisons doesn't affect you, but I don't need you fighting on the field. You think that just because you're tougher than average and can withstand bombs that you won't get hurt with your zanpakuto. Nemu, I've seen my captain die because she thought like that."

"You're willing to use me as a shield." she pointed out.

"Because I can fix you if you get hurt and because you still need me around more than I need you right now. Besides, when was the last time I used you as a shield? I usually let them chase you around for a bit and then I kill them." He let go of her and sat at his desk, "Now get out of here and back to work."

* * *

><p><strong>Mayuri and Nemu read a book<strong>

Mayuri laid lengthwise on the couch in his office, his arm shielding away his eyes. Nemu sat on the ground, leaning against the couch, she was reading _Genji Monogatari_ out loud to him. At one point, he told her, "This story is dull."

Nemu pointed out that it was a psychological thriller. "It's very exciting, very poignant. Genji falls in love with his stepmother, Fujitsubo, who is supposed to resemble his mother, Kiritsubo."

"It all sounds very oedipal." he murmured.

She continued, "When Fujitsubo leaves him, he finds a little girl who is her niece and looks identical to her named Murasaki. Although he still thinks fondly of Fujitsubo, he also loves Murasaki who he raises to be his ideal woman."

He felt that she was trying to tell him something. "These foolish romances. You've borrowed this one from Kyoraku-taicho, didn't you?"

"Ise-fukutaicho lent it to me." she corrected.

He had not expected that. "Should I be allowing you to read such frivolous things? They seem to be a waste of time."

* * *

><p><strong>Megane walks in on Mayuri and Nemu<strong>

In the midst of talking as Nemu was reading out the past weekly evaluations to Mayuri who sat at his desk, he interrupted her by commenting, "Nemu-chan. I think you tore your stockings."

She stopped reading but did not lower her portfolio. "My stockings, Mayuri-sama?"

He motioned for her to come closer and she obeyed without hesitation. He and his chair retreated back, Nemu took it to be invitation to move in front of him between him and the desk. With swift hands, he lifted her off the ground and seated her on the edge of the desk. His hands ran over her knees, the tops of her thighs, cupping her calves… all the while his golden eyes and his maniac's grin was directed only with her face.  
>"Where" he said in a sing-songy voice, "can that tear be. I can't even see it anymore." His grip on her legs grew firmer and she was inclined to bring her knees together. He would not have that and his fingers dipped into her inner thigh, teasingly touching her. His fingers were already hidden underneath her skirt.<p>

"Mayuri-sama!" she cried.

"What is it?" he asked, still looking at her and smiling that Cheshire grin while his fingers moulded over the sides of her thigh.

"I'm not wearing any stockings." Then as to demonstrate her point, she wiggled her tabi-covered feet.

"Dear me." he smiled, "I'm getting old before my time that my eyes must be playing tricks on me."

"And your hands, Kurotsuchi-taicho?" came a voice. Megane walked in with paperwork. Nemu tried to compose herself, but Mayuri's hands on her thighs kept her in her place. Megane chided, "People might start talking, Kurotsuchi-taicho, if they caught you and your lieutenant like this."

Mayuri let Nemu go who promptly made her clothes neat. "It'd feel just like old times, I bet. Eh, Megane? Father-taicho and daughter-fukutaicho caught in a compromising pose. The gossipmongers would definitely eat that up. Perhaps we could make a tabloid of it and sell it to raise our funds."

"I guess." she said with a smile, placing the paperwork on his desk, "Still, the Chief never put up with talk or stuff like that." The original Kurotsuchi Mayuri was forever remembered as the Chief and it seemed that not even his clone would be able to replace him. "There were suspicions here and there, but no one was ever sure."

Casually, Mayuri leaned over his desk, an arm propping his head, and picked up one of the papers to have a look-see. "And when have I ever really cared what others thought of me?"

"Never." Megane said.

* * *

><p><strong>First time<strong>

Hot and sticky skin. The air barely cooling them both. The sheets ruffled. Perspiration and whatever else dampened everything they touched. Mayuri leaned back against the headboard of his bed, cradling his daughter in his arms. She was still crying, though no sobs went past her lips. He rubbed her back, "There, there, baby. Nothing to cry about."

She apologized, burying her warm face into his shoulder.

She wanted it and so had he. It ought to be applauded, waiting so long for her when he may as well have taken her once she began looking like a woman. He had tried to be nice about it, waited until it seemed that she was ready to take on a lover and so she had offered herself to him. He did not understand why she should be crying now. If memory served him correctly, she had more than enjoyed herself while it lasted and he felt their thoughts together move through him and out of him. Women and their first time, he would never understand it.

He leaned her backwards, inciting her to finally face him again. "If you keep crying like this, I'll set you up in another room and spend my nights with Unohana-taicho." he warned her.

She embraced his neck, "Please don't!"

He rubbed her back, already feeling more stirrings inside of him. "Then stop crying."

He kissed away her tears and she returned the sentiment eagerly.

* * *

><p><strong>Mayuri's death<strong>

Nemu could only blankly think, as she sat in the room where already three generations of Kurotsuchi had sat before, that her father, Kurotsuchi Mayuri, was dead.

The will-reader began reading out loud.

* * *

><p><strong>Upon Memories<strong>

There was reason to why they could be called descendents rather than whatever it was other stubborn shinigami called them.

Nemu looked over memoirs of the Twelfth's past captains and lieutenants, each one chronicling different events from each other and different thoughts that contrasted almost significantly to the same-sex parent. Despite the recorded appearances and their zanpakutos, which were the same as the ones before, she realized that they were all different people from one another. The similarities that she remarked upon were the romantic affiliation that appeared to stay only within the family between parent and child, the first and second seats were always Kurotsuchi folks, and the Twelfth's lieutenant was always bound to be the Captain by matter of bequeathing(though that fact appeared to be hidden since the death of a captain marked the date of the lieutenant taking the Captain Proficiency Test).

She closed the journal of one of her early predecessors: the sixth Kurotsuchi Captain.

How torturous it would be to live for as long as this family's name, she thought. It was a written rule in the journal of the second Kurotsuchi Captain that no child afterwards she have the memory of whom he or she was the child of by the instruction of the first Kurotsuchi Captain and progenitor of this dynastic line in the Seireitei. Nemu realized that she might be the first one of the line to question and conclude why. Imagine, having to live out five lifespans and remember all of its worth. Any one would go mad from it, too much input. The realization of such a vast existence ahead would be too much for any shinigami. Perhaps it was easier to only live a while and then die, someone else ready to take up the mantle afterwards; no fear that the centuries of hard work would be ruined by anybody other than Kurotsuchi created and raised.

"Nemu-sama." Mayuri greeted her as he stepped into the room.

Nemu looked to him and greeted him, "Mayuri."

He looked at the books spread about on her desk. "What are you reading those for?" he asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

She smiled slightly and tilted her head, "You never think about your family history?"

"There's not much to think about, it's all quite incesteous and oedipal. Men and women who wanted to live as long as possible and could not let go. You're needed on level Seven right now, Taicho."

"Very well. Coming, Mayuri?" She stood up, her white haori billowing behind her, and her lieutenant followed behind faithfully.

* * *

><p><strong>Epilogue<strong>

The room is ablaze with white and light.

From anybody passing by the room upstairs, they would see only two shadows: one standing at the window and the other leaning against a desk. The room is good for the spring that even these two first and second seats feel inclined to go up for an hour or so a day rather than live forever in underground labs. We see only shadows, a world beyond our own that makes us feel perverse to enter and so we observe. The two can see each other clearly, do not care what anybody outside their circles might see.

Mayuri and Nemu look out the window. The cherry blossoms fall outside like snow, how fleeting life can be.

It's been almost a thousand years since the first Kurotsuchi Captain of the Twelfth. They have become only shadows of the second chief of the SDRI and his lieutenant. Their fates laid out by genetics and technology, by selfish reasons and tradition. The day is too bright and it is too hot. The white captain haori lies draped over a chair, the emblem of the Twelfth distinct against the white and folds. The lieutenant armband of the Twelfth rests askew on the far corner of the desk, unnoticed and certainly not belonging there. Trying to see who is or even looks the older of the two, it is difficult nowadays to tell who might be the current captain and who the current lieutenant. We wait only when they put on the uniforms that designate their posts.

Mayuri fingers the red ribbon in his fingertips, Nemu tries to tangle her fingers in his hand. They're not the same.

Every lieutenant of the Twelth will one day be the captain. A Kurotsuchi woman will always have exactly one son and a Kurotsuchi man will have only a daughter. While their order stays the same, change outside of them occurs. The inauguration of the new Soutaicho, the eventual death of the Eleventh Captain, a Kurosaki-taicho in the Seireitei once more, Kukichi daughters wed the Kyoraku sons... People they've known have died and more have come to take their place. Unfamiliarity is everywhere... outside of them.

They are the only ones that have been consistent, unchanging in their roles at the Twelfth. But even they can not carry on the same wishes and desires as those who came before them. Minds changing, thoughts changing, feelings changing… the heart and soul remains constant.

Mayuri and Nemu bravely face the vast length of existence, born to replace a man who did not want to die and a woman who did not want to face the world alone; and others afterward who continue on the tradition for selfish ignorant reasons.

Their red fates are twisted and knotted together.

They and life goes on.

The next players are waiting.

* * *

><p><strong>Um... so, what did you think?<strong>


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